


There Is A Part Of Me That Never Left A Part Of You

by JustFolieADeuxIt



Series: Lust & Lies [1]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Abuse, Bad Parenting, Car Accidents, Cheating, Eating Disorder, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Jealousy, Multi, Racing, Rivalry, Sad, Secret Relationship, Sex, Swearing, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2018-02-04 06:16:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 40,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1768684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustFolieADeuxIt/pseuds/JustFolieADeuxIt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Story about the F1 Drivers. The things that take place in this are purely fiction, part of my imagination. I do not own the characters, just the story.</p><p>When you spend your life surrounded by 21 other drivers, you feel part of something. But what are you a part of, really? Love? Drama? Depression? I guess it's everything all mixed into one. But how far would you go for a friend? For a lover? For your driver? To protect someone you care about? You'd go pretty damn far, wouldn't you?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Still Young

 

Scene - Nico Hulkenberg

      Nico stared at the screen of his phone as it buzzed. He'd been reading over an in-depth overview of the Austin, Texas Circuit. He was going over the gear changes in his head and preparing for the race in a few weeks. He pressed the green button for 'Answer' and stuck the phone to his ear.

   "Hello?"

   "I need you to come get me.. Can I stay the night?"

  "Of course.." Nico replied, already reaching for his keys. He was used to these calls. A desperate friend, going through things no one else really knew about. "I'm on my way." He added, before hanging up. He was scared, wondering if the damage had been physical like last time. A bruise? Broken bones? Or was it just more emotional damage?

     When he arrived at the one-story, tiny white house in the more run-down part of the city, he honked the horn. He couldn't help but count the seconds as he watched the front door. After 15 seconds, Esteban appeared and hurried for the car, with a backpack of his things for the night at Nico's. When he got in and shut the door, he stared out the window.

    "Are you okay?" Nico got a nod in response. "Are you hurt?" "No." Esteban said quietly, looking over at him. He looked tired, emotionally and physically. How he hid it from 20 other drivers was beyond Nico's imagination. But he did. No one else knew what was going on and he wasn't about to tell anyone. The German started the car and drove back to his place. Nico lived alone in a 1 bedroom apartment, while Esteban lived in that house with his parents, who were not your average loving, caring mom and dad. They despised him and he lived in a world of being yelled at and slapped. So when things got bad, he'd stay with Nico, who was his best friend.

     When they arrived and went inside, Esteban lay on Nico's bed and stared out the window. The blonde sat back down at his desk and looked at the circuit again.

    "Do you want to talk about it?"

    "Same as usual."

    "I think it's time to tell someone."

     "Who? I don't trust anyone."

     "You trust Monisha."

      "I don't want to drag her into my problems." Esteban murmured, laying his head on his arms. Nico spun around in the desk chair, so he was facing the bed.

     "I worry."

     "I know."

     "If you won't tell anyone, at least move in with me."

     "Really?"

      Nico nodded. "That way I can get some sleep and stop worrying about you." He joked, trying to lighten the mood. He recieved a smirk from the brunette and a nod.

     "I think Sergio and Giedo have noticed something.." Esteban said, sitting up.

     "Well, yeah.. You come to practice with bruises and you look depressed." "But they always believe my excuses." He shrugged. "You can only believe something for so long, before people start to realise that you're just hiding something." Nico murmured, watching him.

     "You're right."

====

Scene - Sebastian Vettel

     "Stop!" Seb squealed as he was lifted into strong arms and carried towards the pool in the backyard of his 2 story luxury.

     "You sound like a girl."

      "Kimi! Stop!" Seb pleaded. "Don't even think about it!" He warned.

      "Are you afraid the water might touch you?"

      "No! I just don't feel like freezing to death, thank you very much."

      "It's not that cold, you gobhead." Kimi struggled to hold on to the tiny German, who was wiggling around, trying to get free. He lifted him up again and swung him towards the water. "One.. Two... Three!" The Fin yelled, throwing Sebastian into the water and watching him go under. He tossed his head back, laughing. Seb emerged, hair stuck to his forehead and coughing on water. "You jerk." He muttered, reaching for the ledge.

     Kimi stepped closer, looking down at him. "That's not what you called me last night."

     Seb looked up and batted his lashes at Kimi. "Last night." He said, with a dramatic sigh. "You were so.. Wild."

     "You were so.. Whiny." Kimi joked. Seb reached out and latched on to Kimi's ankle. "I will pull you the fuck in."

      "You can't pull me in with those scrawny arms, even if you tried." "Want to take that risk?" Seb dug his nails into Kimi's flesh as a warning. Kimi's eyes widened a bit, knowing he was serious about this. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. You're brave and manly and you gave me such amazing pleasure." Kimi said, waving his hands about drastically to show enthusiasm. He reached down and grabbed Seb's hands, pulling him out of the pool and wrapping a towel around him. "You excited for the drivers dinner tonight?"

     "Oh, of course." Seb grinned, leaning against Kimi's chest and wrapping his arms around the Fin.

     "I'm not. It's always so.." He shrugged, unable to find a word. People assumed Kimi didn't like people. It wasn't that, not at all. He was just shy and felt awkward with more than 3 people around at a time.

     "It'll be great. It's not often all 22 of us can sit down together and eat.. And talk about normal things."

     "Why do you always have to be right?" Kimi asked, running his fingers through the German's wet curls. "I love you."

      "I love you, too."

 

  ----

Scene - Sergio Perez

      "It's easier if you start turning as you approach the corner. You don't want to turn late or else you're gonna' go into the dirt. But if you turn too early, you'll spin. You have to find your happy-medium."

     Perez nodded, watching as Hamilton moved about a whiteboard, drawing out different circuits, helping Perez solve some problems he was having. "Can we wrap this up? I want to play soccer."

     Lewis let out a sigh. "You should be listening."

     "I'm listening and I'm bored." He said, grinning.

     "You brat." Lewis replied, throwing the marker at him and smirking.

     "Hey, now. You can't be throwing things at me tonight. You'll embarrass yourself."

     "I will?" "Yeah, with your bad aim. You might end up hitting Pastor instead."

     "And that would be so awful." Lewis said sarcastically.

    "It really would, because he'd probably wait until we're on track to seek his revenge." Perez noted. The Brit laughed and shook his head, grabbing the soccer ball from the closet. "Let's go." He said, heading outside. The two drivers no one ever suspected would be friends, were actually one of the tightest F1 friendships that had ever existed. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez. Lewis kicked the ball across the grass.

     "So.. Think Kimi will show up this time?"

     "Yeah, he already said he's coming. Because he has to. Seb will be there."

     "And wherever Seb goes, the Finnish puppy follows." Perez nodded, kicking the ball back.

     "Is Esteban coming?"

     "Think so. I haven't heard from him in awhile.. Something's been weird with him.."

     "Weird how?" "Like.. Last week at the race.. His arms were bruised and he wouldn't talk to me."

     Lewis blinked, holding the ball under his shoe. "Bruised?"

     "Looked like it." "Weird." Lewis kicked the ball finally.

 

\----

Scene - Drivers Dinner

     Alonso was the first one to get to the Hotel that was hosting the Drivers' Dinner. He pulled out one of the chairs at the long table and sat down. He looked around, feeling awkward by himself. It was silent. After 5 minutes, there was footsteps. He turned and saw Rosberg walking over. "Fancy." Alonso said, looking at the blonde's choice of black suit pants and a white button-down. The Spaniard himself had on jeans and a hoodie.

     "Am I overdressed?" Rosberg asked, brushing his hands down his shirt.

     "When are you not?" Alonso laughed.

     Rosberg raised an eyebrow and sat down across from him. "Very funny, Captain eyebrows."

     "Princess."

     "Zorro"

     "Britney."

     "Fuck you." Rosberg smirked, twirling a spoon between his fingers. Alonso crossed his arms and let out a laugh, before turning his head. "Oh, we have company." He said as Jenson hurried over.

     "Having fun?" He asked.

     "Oh, you know it." Rosberg said, leaning back in his chair. "How's Jess?"

     "Good." Jenson said, taking a sip from a glass of water after sitting down beside Alonso.

     "Still going to propose after the race?"

     Jenson nodded. "Yes. I made sure the ring will be ready in time."

     "You don't even have it yet?" Alonso stared.

     "It's being custom made. That shit takes time.. You know.. Jewelry people.."

     Rosberg shook his head.

     After another 10 minutes, everyone had showed up except Nico and Esteban. "Should we wait? Or just order?"Rosberg asked.

     "Let me see if they're coming." Perez said, taking out his phone and texting both of them. A minute later, he got a reply from Nico. "They're on their way." Perez told everyone.

     When they finally arrived, Esteban felt like everyone had their eyes on him. He sat with Nico, with Perez on the other side. Giedo was across from them and looked straight at him. "Hey."

     Esteban twisted the side of his mouth into a slight smile and replied with a quiet "Hi."

     "How have you been?" Giedo asked, continuing to look straight at him.

     "Fine.."

    "You sure?"

     Esteban felt uncomfortable, like he was being investigated. "I'm sure." He said, quietly, pulling the sleeves of his sweatshirt further over his hands. Nico looked over at him and then gave Giedo a look.

     "So.. Texas in 2 weeks." Alonso smiled. "Everyone looking forward to it?"

    He got nods and replies like "Yes" and "Absolutely."

     "My whole family is coming. It's wonderful." Perez said, grinning widely. "Even Antonio is able to make it."

     "That's great, my brother is coming, too." Lewis replied, looking up from the menu with a grin.

    "Checo.." Jenson piped up. "I have something to ask you."

    Perez looked at him. "Si?"

    "Would you be my best man? You know, at my Wedding?"

     "Si! Si!" Perez clapped. "Absolutely. What an honour."

     Jenson grinned. "Wonderful. And some of you other lucky men will be groomsmen."

     Lewis looked at him. "Me, for sure, right, Mate?" He grinned.

     "Nah." Jenson joked.

     For the rest of the evening, the 22 drivers ate, talked and joked around about the season and their lives outside of driving. And for that evening only, it felt like everyone was as tight as the threads on a sweater. 

=======

Texas ---- Scene - Esteban Gutierrez

     "You're about a second and a half down from Caterham." Monisha said. Her words ran through Esteban's ears like a knife. How could be being doing worse than Caterham?

     "Sorry." He said, absentmindedly.

     "We can improve." She smiled. He just looked at his Sauber. He wasn't even enjoying driving at the moment. He was just depressed. His arms were sore and bruised and he was hungry, but never felt like eating.

     "Esteban." She looked at him.

     "Yeah?"

    "I feel points will happen Sunday." She said, her eyes beaming. "I know you can do it."

     He gave a nervous smile. Great, more pressure. Just what he needed. He wasn't angry at her, he just wasn't feeling like racing. He should tell her, he knew he should. He had the opportunity. There was 30 minutes until Free Practice 2. But he didn't, he just spent the time sitting behind the car, imagining himself with a trophy.

     Nico tapped his arm. "Ready?" He grinned.

    Esteban stood up. "Yeah."

     They ended the practice session with Nico in 12th and Esteban in 18th. He felt like crap. Nico was so impressive with the car. He placed his helmet in the garage and headed into the back to change clothes. Monisha stopped him. "Wait a second."

     He turned around, startled.

     "You improved your time."

     "Oh.. Okay.." He replied.

     She smiled. "By a half a second. We look good this weekend."

     "It was 18th!" He exclaimed, flailing his hands. "18th doesn't get us anything! No points, no podium! Nothing!" He then went silent, breathing heavily. Monisha had never seen him get so worked up before. She went silent, looking him over.

     "I'm sorry.." He breathed, dropping his shoulders and leaning against the wall.

     "You don't have to yell at me.. I'm doing what I can to fix the car.. To improve things." She murmured, before turning and walking away.

    He went into the back, his hands over his face. He wanted to scream. He hurt her feelings, something he never wanted to do. He changed and downed a bottle of water, before grabbing his things and heading to find Nico. Monisha looked up, watching him leave. She observed the bruises on his arms and then frowned. "See you tomorrow." She called, wanting him to know she wasn't angry. He waved at her and walked down the pit lane.

\----

Scene - Sebastian Vettel

     "You are such a dork." Heikki smirked, watching Vettel pull gravel out of the cockpit of his car.

     "It was a mistake.." Seb shrugged, throwing a rock. "It's like.. Gravel is such a dumb idea. Poor Susie." He frowned, stroking his Red Bull with sympathy.

     "Poor Susie." Heikki mocked.

     Seb threw a rock at his trainer and stuck his tongue out.

     "Are you done yet?" Kimi asked, walking in. He was waiting for Seb to be done nursing his car, because they were supposed to be going on a date.

     "Almost. Still some pebbles in here." He was running his hands down by the pedals.

     "It can wait. I'm bored." Kimi yawned, crossing his arms.

     "You two doing something fun?" Heikki asked.

     Seb grinned. "We're gonna' go get food."

     Kimi nodded. Heikki was jealous. He wanted Seb, but Seb had Kimi. He wasn't even sure why they even liked eachother. They were complete opposites. He felt he had so much more to give to Seb than Kimi ever could. He watched as they headed out of the garages, the German shoving his hand in Kimi's back pocket.

\---

Scene - Lewis Hamilton

     "Mate.." Lewis shouted. "Mate! Over here!"

     Perez walked over, phone in hand. "Yess?"

     "Guess what I got?"

     "The secrets to winning the race on Sunday?"

     "No. I got tickets to the Soccer game tomorrow night! You want to go, don't you?"

    Perez nodded. "Of course. Thanks." He replied. "But.. Don't you want to take Rosberg? He is your team-mate."

     "He's busy with other things." Lewis waved a hand. "Parties and meetings and shit."

     "You sound bitter." Perez sat on a work bench in the Mercedes garage.

     "I am not bitter. I just don't understand why he can't make time for me. All we do it work together on the team, but whenever I want to do something non race-related, he always tosses me off for something fancy."

     "It's how he lives."

     "Like a King?"

     Perez shrugged. "Something of the sort."

    "How do you eel about tomorrow? Lewis asked.

"Should be good. I don't know, I don't want to be too optimistic. Anything can go wrong."

     Lewis looked at him. "You say shit like that and I get nervous. Don't fuck up my groove, señor."

     Perez smirked. "What? It's true."

     "Well, I don't want to think about it." Lewis sat beside him. "You know what's fucked up?"

     "Hm?" "There's 3 races left and Seb is leading the championship by 80 fucking points."

     "He's so talented." Lewis smacked his arm. "You brat, you're on my side, remember?"

     "Mhm. Yeah, yeah." The Mexican rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying. He's talented."

     "His car is on steroids or something."

     "Red Bull." Lewis laughed.

\-----

Scene - Grosjean

     "You're not listening! You were impeding me! I'm your team-mate and you completely fucked my lap."

     Romain watched as Pastor griped and had a shit-fit. "Sorry."

     "Fuck sorries. You owe me."

     "I owe you what?" "Fuck knows. How about not getting near me?" Pastor muttered, before walking out.

     Romain banged his head against the wall and muttered. "Dick"

     "Hello, Hello." Jules came striding in. "Someone overcooked that potato.. It's steaming." He pointed at Maldonado, who was now heading for the exit of the circuit. Romain couldn't help but laugh. Why couldn't Jules be his team-mate? Why'd he get stuck with the most dangerous driver on the grid? He was unlucky, that's why.

     "Jules, you must save me."

     "You? Someone needs to save me. I'm stuck with Britains next top model." He whined about Chilton.

     "At least he doesn't scream at you."

     "No, he gives me attitude. He wears makeup.. He stares at himself in a compact mirror, that he stole from his girlfriend. He should not be doing sports. Someone needs to hand over a Teen Bop magazine and a box of tampons." Jules flailed, annoyed. 

    "Oh, you are just too funny." Romain sighed, smirking.

    Jules nodded, Romain was right, he was funny and he knew it.

 

 

    


	2. Tell Me Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse the awful lack of editing. I'm unable to edit this on a laptop, so I'm using my Android and it hates the web browser.

Scene - Kimi Raikkonen 

"So, where to next?" 

Seb looked up. "I don't know, we can go back to my place." 

"How about my place? We always go to your place." Kimi replied, pulling a Dinner Roll into pieces and wadding them up into tiny balls, that he was flicking at Seb's face. 

"Okay." Seb replied, propping his chin in his hands and staring at the blonde. "I'm lucky." 

"Oh?" 

"Yes. I have the best car, the best team and the best boyfriend." 

"Boyfriend? Can't I get a better title than that?" Kimi asked, pouting. 

"Okay, how about my lover?" 

"Good enough." Kimi stood up, reaching into his pocket for this car keys. Seb stood and followed him back to the SUV. So practical. When they got back to Kimi's house, they removed their coats and Kimi headed into his kitchen. "Want wine?" He asked, already cracking open a bottle and popping the cork. 

"We just had wine with dinner." 

"So? Even more reason to have more." Kimi smirked, grabbing two glasses from a cupboard. He set them down on the counter and began to pour the red liquid. "Seb." 

"Hm?" 

"You know what I was thinking?" 

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me." The German giggled, turning around on the couch to face him. Kimi walked into the livingroom and sat beside the younger man. He handed him one of the glasses of wine and then stared at him. " I was thinking, after the Season is over, you and I should go on a Vacation, just the two of us." 

Seb nodded. "I'd love that. Where were you thinking of?" 

"I don't know... Fiji? Barbadoes?" 

"Either or." Seb said, setting his glass on the coffee table and laying down in Kimi's lap. He was tired. Kimi ran his fingers through Seb's hair and hummed "Maybe we could go to both. Whatever you want." --

\----  
Scene - Nico Hulkenberg 

Nico had taken Esteban back home with him after the practice sessions and the two of them were watching TV. At least, Nico thought they were, but he looked over to find Esteban asleep with his head on the arm of the couch. He quietly got up and headed to his bedroom. He picked up his phone and noticed he had a missed call from Monisha. He bit his lip and closed his door, before calling her back. "You called?" He asked, when she picked up. 

"Yes.. Sorry to bother you, but I need a favor." 

"Sure, what is it?" Nico asked, sitting down on his bed. 

"Can you tell me if anything is wrong with Esteban?" 

"Uh.." Nico scratched the back of his neck. He knew better than to share someone elses secrets, but he also knew better than to lie. "It's kind of personal, you should ask him tomorrow before practice. I don't want to just blab about things that aren't mine to share." 

"I understand.. I'll do that then. He is okay though, isn't he?" 

Nico could hear the concern in her voice. "He's okay." He told her. 

"Okay, thank you, Nico. I'll see you both in the morning. Get some sleep." 

"Night." Nico replied before hanging up and heading back into the livingroom. Esteban was awake now and staring at the carpet, his left arm hanging over the side of the couch. "Time for bed. We have a big day tomorrow. You can have my bed until we get you one. I'll take the couch." Nico said. 

"I'm fine on the couch." 

"No, really...." Nico insisted, sitting. 

Esteban looked over at him. "Why are you so nice to me?" 

"I'm your friend... We've been friends for years.." Nico stared at him, puzzled and kind of hurt by the question. 

"Or maybe you just feel bad for me." Esteban stood up. 

"No, come on.... You know I wouldn't be nice just to show you sympathy.. Come on, I care about you. Why are you snapping at me?" Nico frowned. 

"Sorry, I'm just tired.. See you in the morning." Esteban murmured, heading down the hall. Nico heard the bedroom door shut. He sighed and lay on the couch, which he was much too tall for. Not that Esteban was shorter or anything. Well, maybe by an inch or two, but they were pretty much identical in height. 

\----  
Scene - Circuit Of The Americas / Practice 3 & Qualifying Saturday 

"Who's a good boy? Huh? Who's a good boy?" Hamilton grinned, his hands grabbing the cheeks of his dog, Roscoe. He had a tendancy to bring Roscoe to the paddock. He didn't care what people thought. It was his dog and he could bring it wherever the fuck he wanted. 

"You're a good boy." A voice hissed sensually. Lewis turned to see Nicole standing in the garage, in a long flowing dress, down to her ankles. She had a white Gucci purse slung in the crook of her elbow. Walking over to him and kneeling down where he was with Roscoe, she smiled. "Hi." 

"Hey." Lewis leaned in and kissed her. "Missed you." 

"Missed you, too. How's the weekend so far?" She asked, placing her purse on the work bench and removing her sunglasses. 

"Good, very good." He replied, standing up. 

"I'm able to see the race this weekend." She told him, leaning into his embrace. Nicole didn't attend many of the races, due to touring and recording. Her schedule sometimes seemed more hectic than his. They'd had an on/off relationship for years, but Lewis was sure this time was for good. He wanted to marry her, and have kids with her. He vowed to spend the rest of his life with her. "I heard there's a big soccer game tonight." She grinned. "We should go. Then we can have dinner. It'd be nice to have a real date. It's been so long." She added. 

Lewis looked at her. "Uhm.... I'm kind of already going with someone." 

"Who?" 

"Checo.. I got tickets the other day.... I didn't know you were going to be here. But it's fine. you can have the ticket. He'll understand.. Besides, I'm sure he has other things to do." 

Nicole smiled. "Okay." 

Lewis hugged her. A part of him wanted to not feel guilty. Nicole was his girlfriend, Sergio was a friend. He knew Nicole was first in anything. First to be invited to a party or for food or for an event. Relationships came before friendships.... But maybe that was what Nicole had taught him. The other part of him felt it was wrong to suddenly ditch his friend. After-all, he'd already promised him they'd go for fun, so they could hang out. He pushed the guilt from his mind and told Nicole he needed to change and get ready for Practice. 

\----  
Scene - Esteban Gutierrez 

"Can I talk to you?" Monisha called as Esteban walked into the garage. 

"Yeah." He walked over and sat on a stool, beside her.  
"About yesterday.." She started. She was about to continue, but he cut her off. 

"I know.. I'm sorry I yelled at you, I was frustrated." He said, quickly. 

"No, no.. It's not about that. It's fine.. I'm just.." She sighed and looked at him. "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?" She asked, frowning. 

"Of course." He lied. He lied to her, God he felt horrible. She looked so concerned and he was lying to her. "Don't worry." He added. 

"But I do worry." 

"I'm fine, I promise." He said. Wow, another lie. He dug himself deeper and deeper and he wanted to hide. He got off the stool and hugged her. "I should get in the car and get ready." 

She nodded. "Have fun." She said, looking back at the track screens. Esteban walked into the back and changed into his racing overalls. He felt someone enter the room and spun around. "Jesus." He breathed as Giedo walked over. 

"Sorry." The Dutch laughed, "I didn't know you were in here. I figured you were in the car already." 

"No, we were late. Nico slept in." 

"He's always late." 

Esteban shrugged, throwing his regular clothes onto a table and grabbing his helmet. 

"Want to hang out later? We should do something fun." 

"Like?" Esteban asked. 

"We could go to the mall." 

"The mall? We're not women." 

"So? Men can go shopping." Giedo laughed. 

Esteban just gave him a look and moved past him. "Not today." He said, sounding annoyed. 

Giedo watched him and sighed. That was not the usual way Esteban would talk to him. He sounded so moody and depressed. He knew something was wrong, but he wasn't about to question him about it, not after the moody response about hanging out. If that was the answer he got, regarding something as fun as the mall, then he was for sure not heading for a question like 'Why are you so moody?' 

\----

Scene - Sebastian Vettel 

"So, how was that dinner-date with Kimi last night?" Heikki asked, watching as Seb checked on his car. 

"Everything and more." The German replied with a grin.  
Heikki leaned back against the wall. "You're really serious about him, aren't you?" He asked, sounding a bit disappointed. 

"Of course." He said, looking over at his trainer. "Why do you ask?" 

"Just wondering, I mean.... Kimi never really seemed like the type for a serious relationship.. Especially not with a guy, I mean, you'd always see him with random women in the past years...." Heikki said, waving his hand. 

"He's not like that anymore, you know. He's fully committed to our relationship and he loves me." 

"I know.." 

"Then why bring it up, Heikki?" 

"I'm just saying.. I don't want you getting hurt is all, stop being so defensive." The blonde sighed. 

"I have to be defensive, you're trying to make Kimi look bad and I won't have it." Seb snapped, looking back to the car. 

"Seb, I wasn't trying to make him look bad.. I just.. You know I care about you and I hate seeing you hurt. When you had your last break-up, you were upset for weeks.. I hated seeing you like that." Heikki breathed, moving towards him. The driver turned around to face him. They looked at eachother, silently. Eyes upon eyes, breathing slowly. Seb pressed a kiss to Heikki's lips and then turned back to the car. The blonde was shocked, but didn't say anything, just stood there, trying to stay in the moment. Why the fuck would he kiss him? What if he told Kimi? Seb wouldn't tattle his own tale to Kimi, would he? It's not like he kissed Seb, no. Seb kissed him. Heikki didn't have to feel guilty, he made no move.  
Seb climbed into the car and put his helmet on. When the session started, he drover out with only one thing on his mind and it wasn't Kimi or Heikki. It was trying to beat everyone else to have the top time in the session. He had to stop getting so damn distracted. 

\----  
Scene - Sergio Perez 

"Shit." He cursed as he pressed on buttons, trying to get the car to start up again. He'd turned too late and was in the gravel. 

"Are you hurt?" Asked someone from the team, over his radio. 

"I'm okay. I can't start the car.." He replied. 

"Okay, go ahead and get out and come back to the pits." 

Sergio sighed and hopped out of the McLaren. He was escorted back to the garage by Marshals and he waited for the car to be brought back. He headed for the screens and looked to see the time of his previous lap. He yawned and then sat down, watching cars zoom around the circuit. 

"Oi, got a moment?" A voice called.  
Sergio looked up to see Kamui. He nodded and watched as the Caterham driver walked over. He was good friends with Kamui, but for some reason, he didn't think this was going to be a normal conversation.


	3. There's No Remedy For Memory

Scene - Sergio Perez (Continued)

"Have you heard anything?"

"About what?" Sergio asked.

"Me.. Potentially not having a seat next year."

"I haven't heard anything." 

Kamui sat beside him. "Feels unfair. We both got podiums in the Sauber. Why should McLaren pick you and not me?"

Sergio shrugged. "It wasn't my decision."

"So? You could have stuck up for me. Could've recommended me. We're supposed to be friends and now you're on one of the biggest teams, with your fancy pants and fancy sponsors and I'm stuck in a car with turtle-pace." Kamui muttered, jealousy laced in his voice.

"I'm sorry." Sergio murmured. "Caterham has potential though.. You won't be slow forever. You can't give up."

"I'm not giving up. I never said I was giving up, I was just saying that it's unfair.." Kamui got up and walked out of the garage, his arms crossed. Sergio sighed and took another look at the screens. Jenson's name had a red 'P' beside it, noting he was in the garage, so Sergio wandered over.

"What'd you do?" Jenson was cracking up.

The dark-haired driver made a face. "Turned too late."

"Ah, mate." Jenson sighed, slapping him on the back. "You'll get the hang of the circuit."

Sergio sighed. "Yeah, yeah." He sat and watched team members pull the tyre blankets out and stick them on the tyres of the McLaren. "Are you going back out?" He asked.

Jenson nodded and zipped his overalls up. "Yeah, why? Are you bored?" He asked.

"No.. But can we talk when you're done?"

"Course." He nodded, then placed his helmet on and hopped in the car.

After the last 5 minutes of Free Practice 3, Jenson ended the session in 5th and couldn't help but grin at the time charts. He changed in the back and then found his friend. "You wanted to talk?"

Sergio nodded and they sat on a couch. "You ever feel guilty about something you shouldn't feel guilty about?"

Jenson squinted. "Liikee?" He asked, dragging the word out.

Sergio explained about Kamui and then waited for a helpful response from the Brit. But instead Jenson looked at his hands for awhile, looking guilty himself.

"Checo.." He started. "He shouldn't be jealous.. And he for sure, shouldn't be making your time here full of guilt-.. I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"They're not keeping you." Jenson sighed. "Martin was going to tell you after the final race.. It wasn't even his decision. I just.. I needed to tell you first."

"You've known?"

"I overheard. They didn't tell me."

Sergio stood up. "Why? Why are they not keeping me?"

"They found some new kid. It's quite bullshit if you ask me. You've done great."

"It's not even fair! We've both been given shit cars and they just use me for a year and then replace me? I'm not a hamster! I deserve more than one year in a crap car!" Sergio exclaimed.

"Sh! You're not supposed to know." Jenson hissed.

Sergio went silent and sat back down. "What if I can't find a team next year? I don't want to be without a seat." He breathed.

"It's okay.. You've got time." Jenson tried to reassure him. "It'll be fine, really. Things happen, but you have to just move forward. We should start preparing for qualy.. You alright?"

Sergio looked at him. "I feel like I tried so hard, only to have it shoved in my face." He whispered, his eyes burning with tears.

"Checo.."

Sergio stood and headed out of the room, not wanting to sit there and start crying infront of him or something. He needed to distract himself before he broke down. Jenson sighed and looked at the clock.

\----  
Scene - Fernando Alonso / Start Of Qualifying

The Spaniard was rounding the circuit, full speed and had a Sauber next to him. They kept distance, not wanting to impede eachother by accident.

Chequered line was coming up and Alonso was betting this lap would be enough for Q2. He didn't want to have to beat up the tyres. He checked his mirrors and was horrified by the sight of a Lotus coming up behind at speeds that didn't even seem safe for F1. He tried to turn to the right, wanting a cars width between him and the Sauber, so the Lotus could go past, but it wasn't going to happen.

He closed his eyes and there was the sound of metal scraping, tyres screeching through gravel and the blast of a horrific impact. It always sounded the same, an accident. He was used to it, but it was terrifying anyway, having to wonder if he was gonna' be alive afterwards.

He sucked in a breath and opened his eyes, his car was sideways, smashed against a barrier of tyres. He removed the steering wheel and climbed out. He could feel his limbs and he wasn't dizzy. He shoved through a crowd of Marshals that were trying to get to the Ferrari.

The Lotus was in the middle of gravel and the Sauber was burried in rubble of a barrier that hadn't taken well to the impact. The Lotus driver was walking (Angrily) towards the Sauber. A tall driver emerged from the wrecked car and came face to face with the Lotus driver.

"Maldonado." Fernando muttered, noticing the name on the Lotus. Maldonado was going to blame anyone but himself. He hurried over to them and saw it was Esteban that was the other victim.

"What were you thinking?" Pastor yelled, grabbing Esteban by the wrist.

Esteban just gasped, staring at the angry eyes of the Lotus driver. He was shoved up against the barrier and pain went through his body.

"Knock it off." Alonso pulled Pastor away from the younger driver. 

"Fuck off." 

"You fuck off! You ran right into us!" Alonso shouted, standing in front of Esteban.

"We'll see what the stewards say about that." Pastor muttered, storming off to see what damage had been done to the Lotus.

Fernando turned and faced Esteban, who had sat on the grass and was holding his head. "You okay?" He asked, kneeling infront of him. "Esteban, say something."

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't do it. Pastor did." Fernando pulled him up and looked at him. "You're okay?"

Esteban nodded, but felt a little unsteady. They headed to the medical centre for quick checks and were released a bit later. Alonso, being a good sport, walked with Esteban back to the Sauber garages, where Monisha grabbed her driver into a hug. "Thank God."

"I'm fine." Esteban murmured, but didn't let go of her. He wanted to be hugged. It's not like his own mother hugged him. Who did hug him? Nico did, sometimes. But not often enough. He felt like he lacked so much in the hug department. Monisha placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at his face. "You went to the medical centre?"

"Yes, I'm okay." He murmured.

"Okay.. Okay." She said, hugging him again. She couldn't imagine him getting hurt, it was too much. "The car will be okay for the race tomorrow, right?" Alonso asked.

"Should be, yes." Monisha nodded, letting Esteban go, so he could change. "Thank you for coming back with him." She added.

Alonso nodded, then sighed. "Pastor is dangerous, he tried to go between Esteban and I, when there was clearly not enough room. He could've got us seriously hurt."

"I know.. He got a ban from the race though." She said, approvingly. 

Alonso nodded. "Good. I didn't expect anything less."

\----  
Scene - After Qualifying / Lewis Hamilton

"You are so amazing." Nicole grinned, kissing his cheek. 

Lewis had gotten pole position for Tomorrow's race, finally outdoing Seb's times. "Not as amazing as you." He replied, moving his hands down her waist. 

"Ready to go?" She asked, reminding him of the Soccer Game. Lewis nodded and he took her hand, leading her to his car.

Sergio arrived at Lewis's garage and found it empty. "Lew'?" He called, checking the back room. Empty. Where was he? They were supposed to go to Soccer. "Lewissss?" He called again.

"He left with Nicole." Rosberg said, having been walking by. 

"When?"

"Like.. 5 minutes ago." The blonde said.

"Oh.. Weird. We were supposed to go see a Soccer Game.. Like, now."

Rosberg shrugged. "Maybe he took her instead. She's never around, I'm sure he missed her. We can do something. Want to?" He offered.

Sergio shook his head. "No offence to you.. I'm just.." He shrugged, unable to find the right words. 

"You look tired."

"I am."

"Go back to the hotel and sleep. The race is in 19 hours.. at least 12 of those should be spent getting some beauty sleep." Rosberg smirked.

"Oh, you think I'm beautiful, how sweet." Perez joked.

"Psh.. As if." Rosberg smirked, nudging his arm. "Seriously though, if you hit me in the race tomorrow, because you're half asleep, I'll have a go at you."

"Aye, okay, okay." Perez raised his hands in defense and then high-fived Rosberg, before heading to the hotel.

\----  
Scene - Sebastian Vettel

"You're quiet tonight." Kimi said, his fingers reaching underneath Seb's shorts.

"Hm?"

"I said you're quiet tonight.."

Seb felt guilty about kissing Heikki, but why did it feel so good? He looked at Kimi. "I don't feel good."

"Tomorrow's race day.. You can't be sick."

"I'm not sick.. I just, I don't know." 

Kimi looked at him. "What is it?"

"Would you ever be mad at me for something stupid?" Seb asked.

"Why?"

"Because I did something stupid."

Kimi looked at the younger boy and raised an eyebrow. "Define stupid."

Seb looked at his hands. He hated confessing shit. His throat always felt tight and he got sweaty and nervous. Well, fuck. He should be nervous. "Heikki and I were talking earlier." He started.

"Mhm.." Kimi waited, observing him.

"Kimi, I'm sorry." 

"What did you do?" Kimi asked, eyes wide.

Seb's blue eyes filled with tears and he grabbed onto Kimi's hoodie. "Don't leave me."

"Seb! Stop! What did you do?" 

"I kissed Heikki!" He cried.

Kimi went silent, looking at him. He felt as if he lost all trust he had with Sebastian, like everything was a waste. He didn't know whether to feel angry or sad or betrayed, so he went with all three and moved away, watching his boyfriend cry into his hands.

"I'm going to take a walk." The Fin said, quietly. "Just.. Calm down while I'm gone." He added, before heading out the door.

Seb layed down, feeling relieved for telling him, but also worried about the potential break-up headed his way. All because he couldn't put his horniness aside around Heikki. He had to face it, he got turned on during those 'Routine massages' before races. It was so wrong. Every bit of his heart belonged to Kimi. But did it, really? Or did part of him want so badly to throw himself at his trainer.

Kimi left the hotel and headed down the sidewalk, watching his shoes as he took step after step, listening to the repetition in his stride. He looked up after a moment, not wanting to get lost, if getting lost in Austin was possible. He'd been here before. He knew the city quite well. Most of it, anyway. Most shops and restaurants were closed for the night, but here and there a cafe or hotel was still lit-up under the dark blue sky. It was slightly cold out, so he shoved his hands into his front pockets.

"You're out late."

Kimi whipped around and came face-to-face with Esteban.

"Says the child." Kimi snorted.

"I'm 20."

Kimi ignored him and continued walking. Esteban walked beside him. "Are you okay?"

"Who cares?"

"Just wondering.. You look.. unhappy."

"That's my face." Kimi replied, then sighed. "What do you want?"

"Nothing.. I was just walking."

"No shit."

Esteban went silent and slowed down so he wasn't beside him anymore, watching Kimi as he kept walking ahead. But then he stopped and looked back. "Well hurry up, now.. I can't tell you my issues if you're all the way back there." The Fin muttered. 

The dark-haired driver caught up and went back to walking beside him. 

"Seb cheated on me." Kimi huffed.

Esteban was shocked. He never took Sebastian as that kind of a person. "With who?"

"With his fucking physio, Heikki. That stupid, blonde tramp."

"I'm sorry.."

Kimi shrugged. "If he wants to fuck around, fine. I don't fucking care. I'll just find someone better, myself." He half-shouted.

Esteban flinched. "Yeah.. You don't have to stay with him." He tried.

"Got that right." He muttered, looking over. "What is with the bruises?" He asked, pointing a finger at Esteban's wrist.

"I fell."

"Bullshit. That's the worst excuse ever. It's like when they ask those abused children why they're bruised and they say the fell down the sta-...." Kimi stopped and stared, realising what he was saying. 

Esteban looked at him, silently. Kimi didn't know whether to pry or just drop it before the kid started bawling or something. He'd had enough of that from Seb. 

"Really, I fell." 

"Ok." Kimi replied, starting to walk again. He didn't believe him, but oh well, if he didn't want to talk, then fine. 

Esteban looked at the ground. He had so many chances to say something. To Monisha, to Giedo or Perez and now to Kimi. It's not like him and Kimi were friends or anything, but he needed someone other than Nico to know. 

"Sorry for being a dick." Kimi muttered.

"You weren't."

"First time someone said that." The blonde smirked. "So, you never told me why you're out so late." He added.

"I couldn't sleep. Nico snores."

"You two share a room?" Kimi smirked.

"Yeah.."

"Are you two having sex?"

"No!" Esteban exclaimed. "We're just friends. Sex? No, of course not." He blinked multiple times.

"Okay, okay.." Kimi tried not to laugh. "I don't snore. So, here's the deal.. You can stay in my room tonight. You should be rested for the race."

"You sure it's okay?"

"Yeah." Kimi nodded as they walked back towards the hotel. "Esteban.." He sighed. "About the bruises." He said, deciding he should at least bring it up one more time, you know, just incase.

"Hm?"

".. I know."

"You know what?" Esteban asked.

"My uncle used to beat the shit out of me." Kimi told him. 

Esteban stopped walking and sat on a bench. "I don't know who to trust.. I can't-.. I can't just tell whoever I want. I'm scared and I feel like.. Everyone is watching me, waiting for me to expose some big secret. Okay, so I get beat up at home. But why am I entitled to have to tell everyone?"

"You don't have to tell everyone. You just need to make sure at least a few people know, so they can help if you need it."

"Nico knows, and now you, but that's it. You can't say anything."

"I'll keep my mouth shut." Kimi said. "Are you at least safe? I mean, you're not actually staying at your house still, are you?"

"No, I moved in with Nico before we got here."

"Okay.." Kimi looked around, feeling awkward and not sure what to say now. He sat beside him and they just stayed there for awhile, both sharing the silence. There was no need for words.


	4. I Know How It Feels To Lie

Chapter 4.

Scene - Sebastian Vettel.

One moment his eyes were closed and the next, they were wide open and sun was coming through the blinds. Kimi had never come back. At least, he didn't remember him coming back or anything. He sat up and looked around. He could smell vodka. Did he drink last night after Kimi had left? He checked his phone and found a text from Daniel.

"W R having brkfst, u coming?"

Seb sighed and texted back. "Sorry, I slept in. I'll be right down." He then stood and got changed, before washing his face in the bathroom sink.

When he left the hotel room, he walked down the hall and was heading towards Kimi's room, when Esteban emerged with the Fin, both in their teams' clothing.

"God, I am so hungry." Kimi muttered, stretching his arms above his head and yawning.

"I can't wait until Winter, so we can eat what we want for 2 weeks." Esteban said.

Kimi laughed. "2 weeks and then back to exercising."

Seb stayed back, watching them. Did Kimi sleep with Esteban. No, he couldn't have. It's not possible. He took the stairs, not wanting to share and elevator with them. He found Daniel with Horner and he sat, grabbing an apple.

"You need to start being on time." Christian said.

"Sorry." Seb replied, chewing. He watched as Esteban headed for the table full of Sauber team members and Kimi went to the Ferrari table, sitting beside Fernando and muttering. Were they talking about him? How he kissed Heikki?

"You alright, Mate?" Daniel asked.

"I'm fine." Seb replied, throwing the unfinished apple onto the plate and standing up. "Drivers parade is soon."

Daniel nodded and stood up. "We should go."

Christian waved annd watched as they walked off.

\----Scene - Drivers Parade

"Where'd you go?" Nico asked, leaning back against the railing as they were driven around the track. He waved to the fans, as he looked over at Esteban.

"You were snoring.. I couldn't sleep."

"Sorry." Nico smirked. "Did you find somewhere to sleep?"

"Yeah, with Kimi."

Nico blinked. "Kimi let you stay in his room?"

"Yeah, we talked for awhile and uhm.. Yeah, he's nice. I told him." Esteban said, shrugging.

"You told him, what?"

"About, you know.. The bruises."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he gets it.. He's been through similar things."

Nico nudged his arm. "I'm glad you told someone besides me. Promise you'll tell Monisha eventually though."

Esteban nodded and waved at people.

"Checo." Lewis walked over. "Sorry I didn't tell you, about last night. Nicole showed up and she wanted to go to the soccer game.. So, I gave her your ticket. I-.. Sorry, Mate."

Sergio shrugged. "It's not a big deal, I was tired after Qualifying anyway. I went to the hotel when I realised you left."

Lewis nodded slowly. "You're sure I didn't hurt your feelings or anything?"

"No, no. It's fine." Sergio murmured. "Do you want go get food after the race?"

"Can't, sorry.. Nicole and I are already going to dinner afterwards. Maybe we could hang out tomorr-" He was cut off by his friend.

"I got kicked off the team."

Lewis blinked, looked around to make sure no one was listening, then moved closer. "What? What happened?"

"They chose someone else for next year. I'm not even supposed to know, but Jenson overheard Martin and he decided he should tell me first."

"I'm sorry.. That-.. That is rough." Lewis sighed. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No."

"I'm sorry.." He said again, frowning.

\----

Scene - After Race

Lewis was happy. He won, finally. Vettel had only won the last 7 races. But this time, Seb didn't even finish, he spun off into the gravel and couldn't get his car started up again, so he stormed off to the hotel, before he rest of the race even finished. Alonso had come in Second and Grosjean finished Third. He felt quite smug, since Pastor, his team-mate had crashed during the first lap.

Sergio was in the McLaren garage, celebrating with Jenson. He'd finished in 4th and the Brit in 5th. It was their best result all year. He figured if he was being kicked off, he was going to celebrate any result in the top 5 they could manage. After this, two races remained. Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

Jenson pulled him into a hug. "That was fantastic."

"What can I say, I told the car not to screw around." Sergio smirked, pouring a glass of champagne.

Nico had finished 10th, while Esteban finished in 11th. He wasn't angry, he was so disappointed, it hurt like hell. He walked into the Sauber garage and tried to get to the back room before anyone saw him.

"Esteban.." Monisha grabbed his arm, trying to stop him. She was gentle, but her fingers hit a bruise and he yelped. She let go and he spun around to face her.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" She asked, quickly.

"No.. I-.. I hurt my wrist yesterday. Nico got a point, shouldn't you be celebrating with him or something? I have a headache.." He mumbled, leaning against a wall.

"You did great, too. Don't you want to celebrate?" She asked. "I'm so proud of you.."

He looked at the floor. Proud. That was a big word to be used towards him. When was the last time someone said that to him? He hugged her. "I'm sorry... I'm really sorry."

"Why?"

"I could've done better-.. And-.. I lied.. I'm horrible. I said I was fine and I'm not fine. My body hurts and I can't focus.. I can't do this anymore." He started to shake and his eyes filled with tears. He was breaking down and fast.

She swiftly took him into the back room. "Tell me what's going on. You are freaking me out."

"I'm being abused.. At home. Nico knows.. I-.. I'm safe, I mean, I moved in with him.. And now I'm safe. But.. I'm just.." He shook his head.

Giedo walked in and stared. "What the Hell is going on?"

Esteban repeated what he'd told Monisha and Giedo stared. "Why didn't you say something sooner? Jesus, Esteban." He sighed, crossing his arms.

"It's not easy! I can't just start telling people that I'm an abuse victim! It's hard! You want to hide and and pretend evrything is all candy and rainbows, while inside you feel like you're dying!" He cried. His head was pounding now and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"It's going to be okay.. Please calm down." She breathed, smoothing his hair. Giedo moved closer, making a group hug. "We love you." He murmured. "You're like family. If something's wrong.. You don't have to be afraid to tell us."

Family. Another new word. 

He didn't get a chance to respond, or to even really think. He just remembered the room spinning really fast, before he collapsed.

Giedo argued that he needed to be taken to the hospital to be checked, thinking maybe his injuries from abuse were serious, but Monisha insisted he'd just worn himself out. He helped her sneak him into his car and they took him back to the hotel. Giedo carried him to his and Nico's room and placed him on the bed. "I'll wait for him to wake up." He told her.

"No, I should stay." She replied. "You go tell Nico.. And if you find Checo, can you tell him, too? He should know."

Giedo nodded and left the room. He hurried back to the circuit and found Nico. "Hey, you need to get back to the hotel."

"Why?" He asked, chewing on a cookie.

"Esteban like.. Passed out.. Me and Monisha took him back to the hotel."

"The fuck? Is he okay?"

"She said he should be fine-.. He just, he was really upset."

"Did he tell her? Or you?" Nico asked, hoping that Giedo knew what he was talking about.

"He had told her, but I walked in and he ended up telling me as well, then, yeah.."

Nico nodded and headed for the hotel. Giedo went over to the McLaren garage to find Sergio. "Jenson."

"Hey, Giedo." Jenson said. "Want cake?"

"Not now.. I'm looking for Checo."

"He's changing."

"Tell him he needs to go to the hotel and to Esteban's room." He said, out of breath.

"Yeah, alright. What's up?" Jenson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He uhm.. He's just not feeling too well.."

Jenson frowned. "The heat?"

"Something like that.." He murmured.

\----

Scene - Jules Bianchi.

The dark-haired Marussia driver snuck into the back room of Grosjean's garage. "Romain.."

"Hey." 

Jules walked over and smiled. "Nice job out there, today.."

"You too."

"Oh, don't flatter me. 21st is shit." He smirked, getting closer. "Romain."

"Yes?"

Jules pushed him up against the wall. "Guess what?"

"What?" Romain squeaked.

"I have a surprise for you." Jules replied, moving his hands up the Lotus drivers shirt. 

Romains arms wrapped around Jules' waist, pulling him closer. "What's the surprise?"

"You'll have to come back to my hotel room to find out." Jules breathed, placing kisses on his neck, as his hands moved down towards his pants.

"Jules.." Romain breathed, closing his eyes. "Someone might walk in."

"C'mon, then.." He took Romain's hand and walked back to the hotel with him, lacing their fingers together. "You're my secret lover."

"Is that right?" Romain asked, looking at him. He got a nod in response as they entered the hotel. They went up to the room Jules was in and he shut the door, before tugging Romain's shirt off. 

"Are we going to have sex?" Romain asked, sounding panicked.

"Yes. I mean-.. We are, aren't we? Don't you want to?"

"I-.. I never really thought about it."

Jules looked at him. "Do you love me?"

"Yes. Of course.. Jules." He grabbed him and stared in his eyes. "I love you like the air I breathe. I need you."

Jules grinned widely and got started on removing more clothes, while pulling him towards the bed. Romain moved with him and they fell onto the matress, a tangled mess of arms and legs. Kisses were exchanged in all places as they got closer.

Romain moaned as Jules tugged on his hair. "That feels amazing. Don't stop." He shivered.

Jules wasn't going to stop, he hadn't planned on stopping until someone knocked on the door and Jules jumped up, grabbing a sheet and quickly wrapping it around his body. "Whoisit?" He squeaked.

"It's Max. The team is going to dinner. Get dressed and be in the lobby in 10 minutes." He said through the door.

Jules sighed and looked at Romain. "We'll have to continue another time." He pouted. "I'm sorry, Love."

Romain frowned. "Can I stay here?"

"Yeah. Sleep with me tonight. I'll be back in a few hours." He kissed his cheek and then started getting dressed.

Romain nodded and curled up in the blankets.

\----  
Scene - Sebastian Vettel

He was alone, sulking in his hotel room. He fucked up so bad in the race, and hoped it didn't cost him the championship. He texted Kimi. "Can we talk?"

He waited and waited and got no response, so he curled up, staring at the screen of his phone. He ruined everything and he felt like shit. He pressed his hands against his face and whimpered.

"Are you okay?"

The German jumped up. "Fucking Hell!" He cursed, staring at Heikki. "How the fuck did you get in?"

"I asked the front desk for the spare key, you twat."

"Well, doesn't mean I want you here." Seb stood and headed for the bathroom.

"Did I mess things up with you and Kimi?" He frowned.

"No. I did."

"Because you kissed me." Heikki murmured, following him.

"It's not about you." Seb muttered, turning the shower on.

"Sebastian."

"What?!" He shouted, turning around.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Heikki, what the fuck?"

"Just answer me."

"Fuck off!"

"Fuck me." Heikki said flatly.

Seb stared, his eyes wide. Did Heikki just ask to be fucked? "Did you just-..?"

Heikki watched him, moving in closer. Seb started breathing quicker, his body tensing up as his physio got close enough to where he could feel his breath on his neck. Seb stepped back, into the shower, fully clothed. He grabbed Heikki's shirt by the front, pulling him in with him.

Heikki gasped, planting his hands on the tiles behind him. "Seb."

"Shut up." The German hissed, pressing his body closer and shoving his lips against his. He didn't want to wait for Kimi to come around. He had feelings for Heikki and he didn't give a fuck what Kimi thought about it. He went with the moment and he didn't regret one bit of it.

Afterwards, they washed up and Seb filled the bath with bubbles. They sat across from eachother, warming up in the water. "I don't know what to say." Heikki breathed.

"You don't need to say anything." Seb replied, looking at the wall. "I-.. It's my choice."

"What about Kimi?"

"Forget Kimi."

"But, Seb.. You're in love with him."

"Am I? Or am I in love with you? Because I'm pretty sure we just had sex."

Heikki blew soap sudz off his palms and sighed. "I love you."

Seb's eyes softened and he felt happy. "You do, don't you?"

Heikki nodded.

"Feeling's mutual.." Seb said softly.

\----

Scene - Esteban Gutierrez

He forced his eyes open and was met with harsh room-lighting. He was on a bed, his bed? He looked to the left and saw jeans. He moved his eyes. Shirt, hands, phone.. Sergio. The dark haired driver was sitting beside him, texting.

He looked over. "Oh, you're awake."

Esteban blinked slowly, then nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"Jenson said that Giedo told him that Monisha told Giedo that he needed to tell me that you were here." He said, thinking hard as he tried to say all that correctly.

"Where's she?" Esteban murmured.

"She went to get food for everyone. Giedo and Nico went with her." He said, putting his phone down. "You okay? Want anything?"

"I'm fine." He replied, sitting up. His head had stopped aching and he felt relieved. Relieved that other people knew.

"What happened?" Sergio asked. "Are you sick?"

"No.. no, I was just over-exhausted and-.." He looked at his friend.

"And what?"


	5. Lights Will Guide You Home

Scene - Esteban Gutierrez (Continued)

He could tell Sergio. They were best friends afterall. It's not like he didn't trust him or anything. So, he did tell him, and knowing that his closest friends knew, he felt a million times better.

"I had no idea." Sergio frowned.

"No one did, really.."

"When did you move in with Nico?"

"Before we flew to Austin."

Sergio nodded. "I'm happy that you'll be safe now."

Monisha walked in with Giedo and Nico, who was holding containers of Chinese food. "Oh, good. You're awake." He grinned.

"Feeling better, dear?" Monisha asked, walking over.

Esteban nodded. "Yeah.. Thank you... For everything."

"No need to thank me." She waved a hand. "Now, let's eat." She added.

Sergio got up. "I should be going."

"No, stay.. There's plenty." Nico said. "We barely see you."

"I have a lot to do." Sergio replied, looking at them.

"Come on, GP weekend is over. What is there to do?" Giedo asked.

"I need to pack up and get a flight home for a few days before Abu Dhabi."

"You're going back to Guadalajara then?" Nico asked.

"Yeah, just for a few days though.. My family got a flight a few hours ago.. I was gonna' fly back with them, but.. Yeah, the team was celebrating." He shrugged, then sat down with them. "I guess I can stay for now." 

Nico grinned. "I knew you couldn't resist." He said, shoving a forkful of rice into his mouth.

After they ate, Sergio asked Monisha if they could talk in private and they headed into the hall.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I need your help. I need a drive for next year. You're not supposed to know this.. no one is, but I got kicked off of McLaren." He sighed.

She frowned. "Why?"

"I don't even know. Apparently there's someone else."

"So, you want to come back to Sauber?" She asked.

"If it's possible."

"It's possible, but.. I can't make any guarantees.." 

"I know.."

"I'll talk to Nico, I think he has some offers.. One from Lotus, from what I heard. If it's good, he should take it. You and Esteban would get along on the team, right?"

"Of course."

"Okay.. I'll see what I can do." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry too much about anything, okay?"

"Okay." He smiled slightly. "I should get going. Tell the others I said goodbye."

She nodded and gave him a hug, before heading back into the room.

\----  
Scene - Jenson Button/Sergio Perez

Jenson was packing up his things and getting ready to leave for his flight when Sergio walked over. "Hey, Checo." Jenson said, slinging a bag over his shoulder. "You leaving with me?" He asked.

"Yeah." He nodded, holding his things.

Jenson headed to his car with him and they drove to the airport. When they got there, they had to run to their gate for their flight, as it was leaving early.

They got on the plane and Jenson looked over. "So.. Is Esteban alright?" He asked.

"He's fine." Sergio replied.

"Giedo seemed pretty worried."

Sergio didn't reply, just looked out the window as they took off. He didn't want to talk.

"Checo.. What's going on?"

"I'm just tired."

"You seem upset. Is this about the team?"

"No. You know when you make plans with someone and then they end up going with someone else? And you try to make new plans and they just turn you down..?"

"Well, yeah.. It's shit. Did someone do that?"

"Yeah. Lewis.. We were supposed to go to this soccer game and he just took Nicole without a word and so I asked if we could make other plans and he said he already had plans with her."

"She runs his life sometimes." Jenson sighed. "Ignore it. He's not trying to hurt your feelings."

Sergio was going to respond, but he suddenly thought of something. "Hey-.."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you going to Mexico?..."

"Jess is there with her family for an event. So, I'm meeting them there and from there, all of us are headed to London. Is your family picking you up at the airport?"

"No.. I'll get a taxi."

"Or you could attend the event with us." Jenson offered. "It's going to be fun."

"Uhm.."

"Come on, I'll take you home after.... You should join us, really."

"What is it?"

"It's this big event for charity. There's gonna' be games and stuff. Tell your family, they can come too. I'm proposing to Jess, remember?"" Jenson said.

"Okay.. Sounds good." Sergio smiled, finally feeling like someone wanted him to be a part of something.

But by the time the flight was over, he felt tired and worn out and just wanted to go home and sleep. He couldn't imagine not going to the event though, he didn't want to ditch Jenson. He invited his family, but they were tired, so he just got a taxi with his team-mate and they headed to the hotel that was hosting the event.

When they walked in, the lights were dimmed and music was loudly playing throughout the lobby. Jessica spotted them and hurried over, throwing her tanned arms around Jenson's waist. "You made it." She said with a grin as he kissed her cheek. "Wouldn't miss it." He replied.

"You remember Checo, my team mate." He added, pointing at him.

"Yes, hi. Nice to see you again." She smiled. 

He smiled. "Hi."

Jenson couldn't stop thinking about the ring in the box in his pocket. He was waiting for the right moment. He'd wait until during the speeches. He looked at Jessica. "When are the speeches?"

"Should be starting soon."

He nodded and they headed to take their seats. Sergio followed, noticing it was extremely hot. After 5 different people went up, Jenson's turn was next and he headed up onto the stage that had been set up.

"Well, glad to see everyone's having a nice time. It's great to see everyone coming together for a good cause. As you all know we're supporting a charity that is building centers for homeless children, so they can have a warm, safe place to live. They'll be supplied with clothing, food and education. So, whether you're here to donate or here to help the cause, you're making a difference." He started, staring out at everyone.

"There's also a difference I want to make in my own life. There's a woman out there.. Jessica, my lovely girlfriend of 4 years.." He pointed at her and watched her blush. "I've been thinking about this for awhile.. And it's finally the right time." He continued, pulling out the little black box. "Jessica, will you be my wife?" He asked, opening it.

Jess stood, hurrying to the stage. She nodded quickly and hugged him. "I will." She breathed, tears of happiness running down her face. The audience clapped happily and Sergio gave Jenson a thumbs up as they headed back to the audience.

"Look how gorgeous it is." Jess exclaimed, holding her hand out to Sergio.

He examined the ring. "Wow.. Yeah, he had it custom made so it was perfect for you." He smiled.

Jess looked up at Jenson and smiled. "You're the best."

"Nah, that's you." Jenson replied, kissing the top of her head.

Sergio looked around, fanning himself with the event pamphlet. "It's hot in here.."

"Seriously? I'm freezing." Jess said, looking down at her outfit. Okay, so she was in a dress. But it still was still cold.

"You alright?" Jenson asked him.

"Yeah.. Just tired. I'm going to get a taxi home. The flight was long." 

"Okay, here." Jenson gave him the money for a taxi. "I dragged you here, so.. It's on me."

"Thanks.. You want to come over tomorrow for breakfast?"

"When's our flight?" Jenson asked Jessica.

"4 PM." She replied, taking his coat and putting it on.

"Yeah, I'll come over." Jenson nodded. "See you at 10?"

Sergio nodded and hugged them. "Congratulations." He said, before heading outside. Cold air hit his face when he stepped outside. He looked around and hailed a taxi. When he arrived at his small house, he walked up the pathway to the front door and dug around in his bag for his key.

The front door opened before he could find it and his mother hugged him. "Finally, Mi Niño." She smiled.

"Hola, mama." He replied, heading inside with her. "Your flight was okay?" She asked, fussing over him. "You look pale, you feel warm. What's wrong?"

"Mama, I'm fine." He laughed slightly. His family refused to treat him like an adult and they always fussed over him.

"Did you eat? I made food."

"No, it's okay. I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted. Jenson will come over for breakfast at 10." He told her.

"Oh, that's wonderful. Jenson, such a kind man." She replied, folding hand towels.

"He just proposed to Jessica."

"Oh!" His mother flailed. "She said yes?"

"Of course. He asked me to be his best man."

She clapped her hands together. "Oh! Wonderful. She's going to be such a beautiful bride. Do you think I am invited?" She asked.

Sergio laughed. "Yes, mom. You know they'll want our whole family there."

"Good." She smiled. "Okay, go sleep. I'll make a big breakfast in the morning. I love you." She said.

"You too." He replied, heading into his bedroom. The hall was quiet. He guessed his brother and sister were already asleep. His dad was probably out at some meeting. He got changed and got into bed. 

Outside of his window, the moon was glowing. Full and bright. He loved Mexico, but it was super amazing in November. Something about the air was cool and crisp. It felt like home. It was home and he missed being around it.

-Morning-

"I can not believe you are still asleep, you little brat."

Sergio opened his eyes and found Jenson standing over his bed.

"Aye! What time is it?" He asked, looking over at his clock. It was 10:15. He'd planned on being awake at 9:30, but apparently his body wanted more sleep.

"You're such a tease, inviting me for breakfast and being asleep when I get here." Jenson joked.

Sergio threw a pillow at him and pulled on jeans and a shirt. "Sorry. I was super tired when I got home."

"It's all good, Mate. You should see your mum. She's running about the kitchen, cooking a billion different things."

"Usual." Sergio smiled, running a brush through his hair.

"Not for me. If I woke up late.. Like, as a kid, my mom would leave for work and I'd come downstairs to cold oatmeal with a note taped to it. "You slept in, so this might be cold - Love, your mummy" "

Sergio burst into a fit of laughter. "Mummy?"

"Shut up." Jenson said, his cheeks turning red.

They headed into the kitchen to find the table filled with platters of food. There was pancaked and fresh fruit. Milk and orange juice and some special Mexican pastries that she'd baked from scratch.

"Mrs. P, this looks amazing." Jenson said, taking his seat.

"Oh, please.. It's nothing." She said, waving a hand in dismissal. She tried not to be too proud of her cooking.

"Where's the others?" Sergio asked, looking at the empty chairs.

His mother sighed. "Your father is working, Antonio is out with friends, playing soccer and your Sister had to work. They're sorry they couldn't be here for breakfast with you two."

"Oh, it's cool. I understand. Life can be crazy sometimes. I'm always traveling. It's nice to come here and just.. sit at an actual table and have a home-cooked meal with a good mate." He said, nudging Sergio's shoulder.

Sergio grinned. It was true. This was Jenson's second home. He loved when the Brit was in Mexico, even if it was just for a day, like this time.

"I heard you and Jessica got engaged last night. Very lucky girl." Sergio's mother smiled.

"Aw, thank you. She was so surprised. It was great." He grinned, slicing up a pancake.

"Guess who called me this morning?"

"Who, mom?" Sergio asked, sticking fruit on his plate.

"Esteban."

Sergio dropped his fork. "Why?"

"Nico's moving to London, and Esteban wants to stay close to the Sauber base, so he wanted to know if you'll rent a place with him."

"But I live in Woking.. Next to McLaren.."

"Yes, but you're transferring back to Sauber?" His mom asked.

He blinked. "What?"

"Yes yes, he told me that Nico got an offer to go back to Force India and that Monisha is giving you his seat at Sauber. So you'll be moving to Switzerland, won't you?"

Sergio looked at Jenson, then back at his mom. "That's the best news ever!" He jumped up, making the dishes rattle. "I have a seat!"

Jenson clapped. "Told you it'd all be fine."

"Sit." His mother said.

Sergio went red and sat down. "This is going to be awesome. I have to call Esteban and discuss moving plans. Is Nico angry?"

"No, he just said Nico is bummed he couldn't get the Lotus offer to go through."

Sergio thought about everything. New place, new room-mate, old team, new beginning. This was going to be fantastic.


	6. This Aching Heart Ain't Broken Yet

Scene - Next Day / Nico Hulkenberg

"So.. Our last 2 races together, before I move to England." Nico said, stretching out on the couch. "You're not mad I'm leaving, are you?"

"Of course not. Why would I be?"

"No.. I didn't mean you would be, I just didn't want you to feel that I was leaving the team because of you."

"I didn't think that. You got a good offer and in turn, Sergio stays in Formula 1. So, at least I go from having a good team-mate to having another good team-mate."

"True. I'm glad Monisha chose him to pair you with. You guys will work well together as main drivers."

"Do you know who your team-mate will be?" Esteban asked, sitting beside him.

"Not yet. I guess they don't want Paul or Adrian though. That's all I've heard."

"Nico.." Esteban murmured.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?" Nico asked, flipping through the channels on the TV.

Esteban took the remote and turned the TV off, looking at the blonde with big eyes. "For everything you've done to help me.. Rescuing me from my own home.. Helping me grow and be a better driver.. Despite our no podiums.. I still had fun."

"Don't get sappy on me." Nico joked, then sat up and smiled. "Joking. Same to you. I've enjoyed this year. Who cares if we didn't win? We had fun, like you said. And, there's still two races left."

"That's true." Esteban said, nodding "But still.. Thank you."

Nico smiled and pulled him into a hug. "Same"

\----  
Scene - Jenson Button

Jenson was back in London with Jessica and they were having lunch out on the back patio, when she finally brought up something she'd been wanting to tell him. "Uhm, Jens'?" She started.

"Yeah?" He looked at her.

"There's something I want to tell you.. I was going to tell you the other day at the event.. But.. I got so distracted with the proposal.."

"What is it?" He asked.

"I'm pregnant."

He blinked, looking at her. "No.. Really? Are you sure?" He asked, starting to grin.

She nodded, grinning back. He got up and went over, picking her up and into a hug. "I'm so happy. We're going to be parents.. Wow.. I-.. I'm thrilled." He breathed, feeling overwhelmed.

"Yeah... But, Jenson.. I was thinking.."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you shouldn't race.. Once the baby is born."

"What? Why?"

"I-.. You should be around. If you're traveling all the time, you're going to miss so much.. You know, first steps, first word.. All that stuff you should be around for." She frowned, running her hands up his arms, to his shoulders.

He thought about it, then nodded. "You're right. After this season.. I'll quit. Promise." He kissed her cheek.

"I love you." She said.

"You too... And you." He grinned, poking her stomach, which was flat and wouldn't show for months. She assumed she was only a month or so along.

"We're gonna' need to prepare.. We'll need so much." Jenson said, thinking of a list in his head.

"We have time." She said, picking up her glass of juice.   
\----  
Scene - Kimi Raikkonen

Okay, so even he had to admit that he bounced back fast. If you call screwing strippers, "Bouncing back". It didn't matter though, he'd do anything to get over Seb. It was weird not having him around or hearing his thick German accent.

"You owe me 150$"

Kimi looked up from the bed, watching the tall, tan, dark-haired woman as she slipped her panties back on. He took another sip from his scotch and then grabbed his wallet. He fished around for 2 100-Dollar-Bills and then handed them to her. "Keep the change." He winked.

She smirked. "Aren't you a gentleman."

"If you remove the 'Gentle'" He said, smirking back.

"So.." She sat beside him, adjusting her bra and looking down at her boobs. "Will you be calling me again? Or should I not get my hopes up?"

"I dunno'.." He looked out the window. "No offence to you. You're gorgeous.. And sex with you was like.." He fished in his brain for words. "Like a fucking roller coaster." He smiled at her.

She looked back at him. "Mr. Raikkonen, glad I could pleasure to your liking." She said, before standing up. "I have to go now." She added, slipping her dress back on.

Kimi lay there, as she left and shut the door. He could get used to it, not having Seb. It's not like he needed him. But, if he didn't need him, then why'd he feel sick thinking about him? Why was it so hard to sleep at night? He turned over and looked at the clock.

\----  
Scene - Sebastian Vettel

"No! I said no!" Seb screamed, shoving Heikki away.

"Come on.. Why are you being so distant?" 

"I told you already, like 5 times, I'm not in the mood!"

"When are you in the mood? Because, lately, it seems like it's never! You never want to have sex or let alone, even kiss me!"

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Seb asked, crossing his arms.

"I want you to tell me what's wrong, because I'm worried about you." Heikki frowned. 

"I don't know.. I'm just not in the mood." He murmured, staring at the floor.

"Fine. Well when you decide to be fucking normal, you know where I'll be." Heikki snapped, leaving the house and slamming the door.

Seb curled up on the couch, crying into his hands. Why was it so hard to love? To feel normal about love? Everything he did felt like betrayal. How could he do this to Kimi?

\----  
Scene - Lewis Hamilton

Nicole watched Lewis as he texted quickly to someone on his phone. It'd been going on for a half hour. She was on the floor, leaning over, painting her toenails a mint colour. "Babe, who are you texting?" She finally asked.

"Sergio."

"How is he?" She asked, flipping her hair over he shoulder.

"Good. Sauber gave him a seat, so he's moving to Switzerland to get a place with Esteban."

"Back to Sauber? Isn't that who he left to go to McLaren?"

"Yeah, but he needed something for next year. Better safe than sorry." He said, sitting beside her. 

"True.." She looked at him. "Want me to paint your nails?" She smiled.

"Don't you dare. I'm not showing up to practice with minty fresh nails."

She laughed. "But the guys will give you compliments."

"Yeah, sure." He smirked, running his fingers through her hair. "We should do something fun tonight."

"Dinner?"

"Nah.. Something we don't usually do."

"Museum?"

"Nic'.. Really? I mean.. Fun, like thrilling fun."

"Well, I don't know. You want to drive me around a circuit?" She joked, screwing the lid back on the bottle of Nail Polish.

"Very funny. No, I was thinking maybe we could go to that carnival.."

"The Fall Carnival?" She asked.

"Yeah.. There's rides and stuff.. Games, food."

"Hmmmm, okay.. Sounds nice." She smiled, leaning against him. She wriggled her toes. "Not bad, huh? I should quit singing and work at a Nail Salon." She joked.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist.

\----  
Scene - Fernando Alonso

Who was calling him? He looked over at his phone and blinked. It was Seb. He picked it up and put it to his ear. "Yes?"

"I need to talk to you." Seb blubbered.

"That's what we're doing." 

"In person."

"I'm not in Germany." Fernando murmured.

"Nanddoo.." Seb whined.

"Seb, what's the issue?"

"I cheated on Kimi."

"Why the fuck would you do that?"

"Because I like Heikki."

"Well, what are you doing to do?"

"I don't know! That's why I called you."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Help me." Seb pleaded, sounding desperate.

"You made the mistake, you can fix it."

"But I don't know where to start."

"You'll figure it out."

Seb groaned and hung up.

Fernando shook his head and set his phone down. He tried to go back to relaxing in front of his TV, but somehow he felt guilty about not helping Seb. He did sound pretty upset. He groaned and picked up the phone, calling him back.

"What?" Seb muttered.

"I'm sorry.. I'll help." Fernando said.

"Really?" 

"Yeah.. I'll catch a flight to you and we can fly to Abu Dhabi together, okay?"

"You don't have to go through the trouble.."

"Really, it's fine.. I'll see you in a few hours." He said, before hanging up. He got his stuff packed for Abu Dhabi and then caught a flight from Spain to Germany.

When he finally arrived at Seb's house, he knocked.

"Coming!" Seb yelled, running for the front door. He flung it open.

"Hey."

"Hi." Seb replied, helping him bring his luggage in. "Thanks for coming."

"Don't worry about it. It's what's friends do." Fernando said, taking his coat off. "Place looks nice."

"Oh, thanks.. I moved some stuff around." Seb murmured, looking around.

The Ferrari driver took a seat on the couch. "Alright, so you cheated on Kimi.. With Heikki? Am I remembering right?"

Seb nodded. "So, I got together with Heikki, but.. I'm starting to feel guilty.. Like, maybe I shouldn't be with him...."

"Who do you really love?" Fernando asked.

"Both? I don't know." He murmured, sitting beside him. "It's hard.... Like, me and Kimi have this past.. We've been in love for years, but yet, Heikki.. He's so sweet and he makes me feel amazing."

"Does Kimi make you feel amazing?"

"Well, yeah.. But sometimes he-.."

"He what?" Fernando asked, looking at him.

"He'll get drunk and yell.. And-.. It makes me feel uncomfortable..."

"Has he ever hurt you?"

"He slapped me once.. But.." Seb shrugged.

Fernando frowned. "Seb.. I'm going to give you advice and I want you to listen to me, not go storm off and pout like a child."

Seb looked at him.

"Break it off with Heikki and don't crawl back to Kimi. If Kimi wants you, he'll come back to you himself and forgive you. If he can't forgive you, he doesn't deserve your time or love." He said.

Seb looked at the ground. He felt like crap, he should've never kissed Heikki in the first place, no matter how bad he wanted it. 

"You okay?"

"Not really. I cheated on my boyfriend and now I'm treating Heikki like crap because I couldn't control myself in the first place."

"It'll be okay, just remember what I said, yeah?"

Seb nodded as Fernando threw an arm around him and pulled him against his side. "I do consider you a friend, Sebastian. Just know that."

Seb nodded again, leaning his head against the Spaniards shoulder. "Thanks.." He said, quietly.

\----  
Scene - Nico Hulkenberg/Esteban Gutierrez

"Got everything?" Nico asked as they put luggage in the back of a taxi.

"Think so.."

"Okay, good."

When they arrived at the airport and finally got on the plane, it was near 10 PM and Nico was exhausted.

Esteban squirmed in his seat as the pilot announced they were about to take off. "You know.. I wish we didn't have to fly so much." He murmured.

"It's fine." Nico yawned. "You're just paranoid."

"Planes crash."

"Rarely and usually people survive."

"That doesn't mean I enjoy the thought of plummeting into the ocean from 30,000 feet or higher."

Nico smirked. "Paranoid."

Esteban frowned and checked his seatbelt again. His hands were sweaty and he felt uneasy. The only thing that could've made it worse is if he didn't have someone he knew flying with him. 

The plane began to speed down the runway and it was starting to rain lightly. They would have to fly through the storm that was hovering over the Swiss city. The wheels skidded a bit and the plane took air, lifting off.

He didn't look, just shut his eyes and grabbed at Nico's sleeve, muttering panicked words in Spanish. When the plane leveled out, Nico shook him. "Can I have my arm back?"

"Eh.. Sorry." The younger driver let go and looked around. 

Nico opened a book and started to read, then stopped. "I just started this.. Do you want to read with me? It'll distract you.. Promise."

Esteban scooted closer, leaning against his team-mate and staring at the book. "What's it about?"

"Ehm.." Nico turned it over. "Not sure, really. Mystery, I'd assume.." He guessed, flipping it back over so they could read the first page. They got about 20 pages in, when the turbulence started. Nico pretended he didn't notice it, hoping Esteban wouldn't notice it either. It didn't seem he did, he'd gotten real into the book.

"Done with the page?" Nico asked and got a nod in response, so he turned it to the next one

As Nico's eyes hovered over the first paragraph, he was a little shocked when the lights went out.

"Nico." Esteban said quickly, sitting up straight as the plane started to shake again.

"It's fine.. Normal, it happens all the time." Nico told him, although he wasn't sure if that was completely true. The shaking turned violent and Nico leaned over to look out the window. Rain pelted against the windows and the sky looked dark and grey. Lightning was striking all around them. He shut the curtain and tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness.

"We are going to be making a landing at Naples International Airport due to the storm. From there you will be able to make another flight to Abu Dhabi. We apologize for the inconvenience, please stay seated as we will be landing within 10 minutes." The pilot announced over the loudspeaker.

"Is that an emergency landing? Why are they acting like it was planned.. Last time I checked, we didn't plan on having a stop in Italy." Esteban muttered, panicking.

Nico grabbed his hand. "It's all good. They know what they're doing.." He said, praying that he was right.

Less than 10 minutes later, they were landing roughly at the airport in Naples and they skidded to a stop. "Let's go.." Nico said, undoing his own belt and gathering his things. "Esteban."

The dark-haired driver opened his eyes. 

"You okay?" Nico asked.

"Mm.." He stood and followed him off the plane and into the airport, where it was dry and warm. They'd gotten soaked just from the short journey from plane to inside the airport. 

"Jeez.." Nico muttered, throwing his bags on a chair and sitting. "Okay.. Next flight won't be until 6 AM, so we have around 6-ish hours.. Sun should be out by then.. Storm won't last through early morning. We should have a nice flight."

Esteban sat beside him, wary of getting on another plane, even if the weather was to be nice. He was cold and tired and he never wanted to have a flight like that ever again.

"Esteban.." Nico waved his hands infront of him.

"I heard you.. Sorry. I'm just-.." He looked out the window at the rain, at the plane they were just on.

"Yeah, I know-.. It was quite.. An experience." Nico murmured, picking up one of his bags and rummaging through it. "I'm gonna' go change.. I'm freezing." He said, before heading for the bathroom.

Esteban looked around, watching the people in the airport. They looked so happy, most of them. He assumed they were the ones heading for their vacation destination. Others stood in suits, looking irritated. There were kids crying and other kids eating snacks while their parents stared at laptops or phones. 

"Back."

Esteban jumped and looked at Nico. "You scared me."

"You were spacing out." Nico smirked.

"I'm tired." He said, heading for the bathroom for his turn to change.

Nico sat back down and got his phone out. Giedo had texted him. "Please tell me u guys didn't fly right now. Made a mistake, stuck in Naples."

Upon reading the text, Nico began looking around. Esteban came back. "What are you doing? Playing 'I Spy'?"

"No, Giedo texted me. He's stuck here, too. Let's find him and grab some coffee." Nico told him, before texing Giedo back. "We're here 2. @ the entrance, come meet us 4 coffee and food."

5 minutes later, Giedo walked over, looking annoyed. "The fact they bothered to attempt the flight during this storm is beyond me. Now we're stuck here.."

"For 6 hours." Esteban mumbled.

"That turbulence though." Nico tried to crack a joke.

"That was.." Giedo shook his head. "Wild, but anyways.. The cafe is upstairs." He said. "Lets go."

Nico and Esteban dragged their things, following Giedo upstairs to the cafe. It was empty except for a young man in a suit, sipping at a latte, while staring at his IPad.

The three sat at a table after getting some coffee and muffins. "We're on flight F214.. Is that what you chose?" Nico asked. 

Giedo nodded. "Yeah, good. We'll all arrive at the same time, then." He said, looking at his ticket. He checked the weather on his phone. "That's what I thought. Freezing."


	7. Is It Over Now, Can I Open My Eyes?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter. My apologies for the long wait. So, I decided we're gonna' get right into the next season in the story and I'll explain the driver pairings for teams in this chapter. It's a bit all over the place as I worked all week and I could use some real sleep. :I

Scene - Esteban Gutierrez/Nico Hulkenberg/Giedo Van Der Garde - Continued

For the next 5 and a half hours, the 3 drivers tried to get some sleep, which proved difficult due to the chairs in the airport being uncomfortable, plus you had the noise factor. People were talking and children arguing, employees over loudspeakers were announcing flight numbers and plane engines roared everytime a flight would land or take off.

Nico was sitting on a chair, still awake, phone in hand as he read through the recent news. Esteban was laying against him, managing to sleep lightly. Giedo was laying across a row of 5 chairs, reading a book. The sun was nearly done rising and birds were hopping around outside. 

"Flight F214 to Abu Dhabi is now boarding at Gate 7." A woman announced over the loudspeaker. 

Nico shook Esteban. "Time to go." He said, as Giedo stood and got his luggage together. 

To their amazement, the flight was calm and they flew in great weather. When the touched down, it was warm and dry. When they got to the hotel, Giedo checked into his room and waved to them. "See you later guys." He called.

Nico and Esteban headed down the hall to their room. "Let's get our stuff in here, then we can see if Monisha arrived yet." Nico said, sticking the key card into the slot on the door. The light turned green and they went inside. Esteban shoved his things near a bed and looked around. 

"It's nice." Nico said, before peering out the window. "We have a nice view of the circuit.. Don't you think?" He asked, waiting for a response. "Esteban.." He turned around and found his team-mate asleep on the bed. He smirked and quietly sat on the other bed. He texted Monisha. "We just arrived @ the hotel. Where are you?"

"Helping with garage set-up, are you coming?" She replied.

"Esteban is asleep."

"Okay. I'll text you in a few hours, we can all get dinner."

He replied with 'Ok' and then turned his phone off and layed down, deciding some sleep wouldn't be too bad.

He hadn't realised how long he'd been sleeping until his phone started ringing. It was Monisha again. "Dinner, now boys"

Nico rolled over and looked at Esteban on the other bed. he was curled up, his hair sticking to his face. "Esteban.. Wake up, time to go get food. Come on."

Esteban opened his eyes and groaned. "Tired."

"No, come on. Food."

The darker-haired driver reluctantly sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Almost 7." Nico replied with a yawn. "We slept too long. Monisha wants us to meet her with the team for food."

"Okay."

The two changed into nicer clothes and headed down to the dining area of the hotel where Giedo was at a large table with Monisha, Simona and Sergey. She greeted them with hugs. "Sorry about your flight. Giedo told me what a nightmare it was getting here."

"It was annoying." Nico said, sitting down. "Having to make an extra stop.. And be freezing"

"I'm still cold." Esteban murmured, zipping up his hoodie more. 

"In the morning, it'll be really warm and we can hang by the pool for a bit before the press conference." Giedo suggested.

"Sounds nice." Simona said, looking at the menu. 

Nico nodded. "I could use a lay in the sun. Sounds so warm and relaxing. Just need someone to bring me a smoothie." He joked.

"So, we're looking at 2 stops for this race." Monisha said, placing a circuit map on the table. "Start on the options, so you don't have to change to them. Then we can use both sets of primes."

Nico nodded. "Okay.." He said, looking at the DRS zones. 

Esteban blinked slowly, still half asleep and wanting to get back into the warm bed. It was practically calling his name. No-.. That was Nico, literally. 

"Esteban, are you listening to me?" Nico nudged him.

"Huh? Sorry.. Tired. What were you saying?"

"I said I think we'll get some good points here."

"Oh, yeah.." Esteban replied, unsure whether that was even true or not. He felt his eyes growing heavy again and he longed for more sleep.

\----  
Scene - Post Season

Things didn't quite go everyone's way. Hamilton lost the championship by 10 points to Sebastian Vettel and was quite annoyed. How could he lose by such a small margin?

Esteban never scored any points and was disappointed in himself and now felt more pressure for the upcoming season. Nico, on the other hand was praised for finishing 4th in both Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

Jenson announced that the upcoming season would be his last, as him and Jessica were to wed and were also expecting a baby girl. 

The drivers and teams switched a bit and when the official was printed, it looked like this:

Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel & Daniel Ricciardo  
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg  
Lotus: Romain Grosjean & Bruno Senna  
Ferrari: Fernando Alonso & Kimi Raikkonen  
Sauber: Esteban Gutierrez and Sergio Perez  
Force India: Nico Hulkenberg & Giedo Van Der Garde  
Toro Rosso: Daniil Kvyat & Carlos Sainz Jr.  
Williams: Valtteri Bottas & Felipe Massa  
McLaren: Jenson Button & Kevin Magnussen  
Caterham: Marcus Ericsson & Oliver Turvey  
Marussia: Jules Bianchi & Max Chilton

Quite a change indeed with Bruno Senna's return to F1 since he left Williams. The drivers were quite please with Maldonado not getting a seat though. Oliver Turvey, who had been a reserve for McLaren, was signed by Caterham after the Brazilian GP. Nico Hulkenberg was pleased to find out his team-mate would be Sauber's reserve, Van Der Garde. Jean-Eric Vergne decided to retire from racing for the time-being and was replaced by Red Bull academy driver, Carlos Sainz. But, the biggest talk of all, by far.. Was the joining of Kevin Magnussen to McLaren. 

New faces on the grid meant, more potential for drama, but also for newly developed friendships. 

\----  
Scene - Before Winter Testing / McLaren Center

Jenson sat, looking over photos of the new car. Blegh, the nose was odd. So long and.. Narrow. Oh, well. He could get used to it. The cars changed every year and it was something he'd always found very interesting, how in just 1 year, the cars could look so very different.

"Hi."

Jenson spun the chair around to see a short, blonde, pale-skinned teenager in the doorway. "Hello, Kevin." He greeted.

"What are you doing?" Kevin asked, walking over.

"Looking at the new car, have you seen it?"

"No." He replied, peering over Jenson's shoulder. "It looks nice. I can't wait to drive it."

Jenson resisted a sigh. It wasn't that Kevin wasn't nice, because he was. He was super nice. But Lord only knew if Kevin was as experienced as everyone said he was. He looked at the younger man.

"So.. Gotten acquainted with the team yet?" Jenson asked.

Kevin sat on a chair. "Pretty much.. Still a few people I haven't met yet."  
\----

Sergio had packed up all his stuff in Woking and was to be heading to Switzerland to get settled into the apartment he'd found with Esteban. It was his last day in England and he was heading to McLaren to say one last goodbye as their driver. When he walked inside, it was silent, except for a few engineers who were looking over graphs.

He headed up the stairs and down a long hall, with glass windows on one side and rooms on the other. He saw Jenson and Kevin in a room and headed in.

"Uhm, hey."

Jenson looked up. "Checo, hey." He smiled.

"I just came to say goodbye.. You know.. Like.. goodbye from the team.. Kind of thing." He shrugged.

Jenson stood to hug him. "Good luck on Sauber, I'll be seeing you in Jerez for testing."

Sergio nodded and then looked at the Dane. "Kevin?"

"Yeah, hi.. Nice to meet you." He stood and shook Sergio's hand. "Er.. Sorry-.. I hope you don't think I'm replacing you."

"You are." Sergio said flatly. "It's not a big deal, I have a seat for the year."

"Yeah.. Sauber's a good team."

"I know, I spent two years with them."

Kevin blinked. Right, he should know these sorts of things. He felt stupid and kind of awkward. "I hope we can have some good battles this year."

Sergio looked at him, wondering what the Hell that was supposed to mean. Was that some kind of friendship gesture? Was he like those girls as school that said "I hope we have some classes together! It'll be so much fun!"

"Er.. Yeah.." Sergio finally replied as he was startled by Jenson grabbing him into another hug. "You were a great team-mate. I'm sorry you didn't get the season you deserved, Checo. I promise.. Things will be better for you this year.. Just, never give up, okay?"

"I won't." He mumbled.

\----

Scene - Nico Hulkenberg

"Mirror mirror on the wall, which of us drivers is more tall?" Giedo smirked.

He was standing beside Nico, infront of a huge mirror. They were wearing their new uniform colours. Black, orange, green and white. Black pants were prefered, but jeans were allowed. They were both tall, but Nico was a bit taller and he knew it.

"Me" Nico said. "You lose."

"Just means I have the advantage in the car, Mr. Big Boots"

"Har har." Nico smirked.

Things had been so different for Nico and Giedo since they moved from Sauber to Force India. The facility was bigger and had more technology rooms, more team members and more money. But that didn't mean the team looked down on Sauber. The two teams were close.

Nico was now living in Silverstone, close to the base. Giedo was in the same neighbourhood with his girlfriend. Nico found it weird, not living anywhere near Esteban anymore. He was lonely and missed his friend. He missed Monisha as well.

\----

Scene - Sebastian Vettel

He'd won the last two races, won the Drivers Championship, and most importantly, he'd won Kimi back. After Abu Dhabi, he'd been able to talk to Kimi and they'd made up after Seb spent an hour bawling his eyes out to the Fin, while apologizing over and over until Kimi couldn't handle the guilt of leaving him in the first place.

As for Heikki, Vettel fired him. He didn't want things to get fucked up again and he knew a step in the right direction was to not have Heikki around for this season. He knew it was for the best. He needed to do everything he could to protect his and Kimi's relationship.

\----  
Scene - Esteban Gutierrez

He looked at his watch again. Sergio was now an hour late and he was getting worried rather than annoyed. He was sitting on the empty, carpeted livingroom of the apartment they'd found in Switzerland, as close to the Sauber base as possible.

He looked up when he heard the front door opening. Sergio walked in, looking tired. "I'm really sorry. My flight was delayed."

"No, it's fine. Are you okay?" Esteban stood.

"Yeah.. Just had a long day." He said, setting his bags down on the floor and running his hands down his face. "Had breakfast at McLaren with the crew for a final goodbye and they all said something nice about me for my year.. It was kind of.. Sad." He shrugged. "They all seemed to know I should still be there."

Esteban looked at him. "Well.. I know Sauber is no McLaren, but.. It's gonna' be a great year."

"Hope so."

They headed outside to the moving truck that was parked. Esteban couldn't move anything by himself, and that's why he'd waited for Sergio to get there. They hauled in beds and a couch, along with some other furniture. Tables, dressers, bookshelves, chairs.   
When they were done, they both collapsed on the couch, tired. "Hate moving." Sergio muttered.

Esteban laughed. "Me too. But it's done now."

"Too bad there's no food." He whined.

"We'll have to go to the market.. " Esteban said, looking at the time. "We should go now before it's dark and they close."

Sergio was staring at his phone, his eyes were red.

"Did you hear what I said?" Esteban asked, yawning.

"Uh.." Sergio looked over. "One minute.. I have to uh.. Make a call." He got up and headed into the bedroom, softly shutting the door behind him. He slid down the door and on to the floor, his hands over his face. He couldn't do this this, not after the text he'd just recieved.


	8. What's The Point In Saying You Love Me Like A Friend?

Scene - Esteban Gutierrez / Sergio Perez

Sergio looked up at the bedroom ceiling and tried to calm down. He didn't imagine it would be this hard. Maybe it wasn't and he was just making it up to be this hard. He looked back down at his phone, the text from his mom still on the screen. 

"I wish you didn't travel so far away, I miss you so much." It read.

The hardest part of the sport wasn't the training or the getting up at ridiculous hours for track walk.. It was being a thousand miles away from his family, who he maybe saw 5-10 times a year. It didn't seem like enough. He missed everything. He wasn't around for birthdays or most Holidays. He was always traveling and he would never admit that it got to him. He always wanted to be looked at as strong.

He replied to her with, "I miss you too." And then pulled himself up off the floor and took a deep breath, before heading back into the livingroom where Esteban was pulling on his coat. "Hey." He said.

"Hey, sorry about that.." Sergio murmured, looking for his own coat. "Is it that cold?" He asked, unzipping his bag from the airport.

"Yes. It's Switzerland." Esteban smiled. "Didn't you see the snow outside?"

"Guess I was too tired to notice." He replied, grinning as he finally found his coat. He pulled it on and they headed outside. It had snowed, a lot and Sergio really hadn't noticed it.

"Wow." He breathed, able to see his breath in the cold air. It wasn't humid either, it was dry and crisp. All the trees were missing their leaves and the sky was grey with a hint of white clouds. It was beautiful to say the least. Much different from Woking. Woking in Winter was much more rainy.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Esteban asked as they walked down the sidewalk. 

"Yeah." Sergio shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and walked beside him. There was no need to try and drive the car through the snow-filled streets. The market was only a few blocks away and it wasn't cold enough to the point of scarves and hats. It was just.. Chilly. Coat weather.

"Monisha is so excited to have you back on the team. She really missed you. She's also sad to have Nico and Giedo leave though." Esteban said.

"Yeah.. But she must be happy that he got an offer. It'll be nice to have him on the circuits."

"Of course. She's super happy." Esteban nodded. "So, did you meet the new driver at McLaren?"

"Oh, actually.. Yeah, I did. His name is Kevin and he's from Denmark. I heard he's only like 20 or something."

"Is he nice?"

"Yeah, sure.. He's really nice. It's just.. Awkward.. You know, because.. He's replacing me. I mean, am I supposed to be friends with him?" Sergio asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's up to you.. It's not like he payed his way in. Kevin didn't boot you off.."

"True." Sergio replied, realising Esteban had a good point. There was no need to be unfriendly towards the Dane. He'd done nothing wrong, really. 

When they reached the market, they found it bustling with families and children, pushing around trolleys filled with loaves of bread and wrapped up packages of fresh deli meat and cheese. 

Esteban grabbed a small basket. "We don't need too much, it's just the two of us. What should we do for the week?" He asked.

"Mm.." Sergio looked around. Everything was labeled in German. In England, everything was at least in English and he knew English, and Spanish. But German? Not so much. "Do you speak enough German to know what this stuff is?"

"Yeah." Esteban nodded. "I learned so much German from Nico, plus Monisha knows some German as well. It's an easy language to learn. You'll pick it up real easily." He said, putting bread in the basket.

"Hope so.. Because.." He stopped and looked at some packaged chips. "I don't even know what these are." He cracked a grin, following his friend around the market. "We could do healthy tacos.. You know, a little cheese, spinach, grilled chicken?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Esteban walked around, grabbing things he named off. 

\----  
Scene - Romain Grosjean / Bruno Senna

"No, really.. I am completely serious. Saw it with my own eyes."

"Impossible. No one would drive that out on the streets." Bruno laughed, sitting across from Romain with a beer. "

"Fine, don't believe me." Romain smirked, leaning back in his chair. "God, it's so nice to have a team-mate that doesn't want to strangle me."

Bruno let out another laugh. "The days of Williams will forever haunt me. Don't forget, I had Pastor as a team-mate as well."

"Yeah, true. I don't know how you dealt with 2 years. I could barely handle one."

Bruno shrugged. "I don't know. Was hard. It's nice to be back though. Missed this championship." He said, taking a drink from his bottle. "Mm, so.. Tell me, is it true?"

"Is what true?" Romain asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"That you and Jules.. You know."

"Me and Jules.. What?"

"Are together.. Dating.. You know, in a relationship thingy..."

"Yeah, it's true." Romain replied, looking up at the sky.

Romain and Bruno were outside of the Lotus technology center and it was dark out. They were sitting around a fire pit with a few beers, having small-talk, a good chance to bond before Winter Testing. Romain was super excited to have a Senna as his team-mate. Plus, he knew they'd get along very well.

"How long have you guys been together?"

"6 months." Romain smiled. "7 in January."

"Wow.. Nice."

"Thanks" Romain set his own bottle down in the grass and sighed contently. "I have a feeling we're gonna' do so good this season."

"Yeah, me too. It's gonna' be good.. So good." Bruno looked at the stars, then looked back to Romain. "So, fill me in on the rest of the grid.. I'm not caught up too much on all of that."

"Well.. There's this new kid at McLaren named Kevin.. While McLaren's test driver, Ollie, went to Caterham, which is cool. Toro Rosso got Carlos Sainz." Romain started. "Giedo got a seat at Force India"

"Hey.. Speaking of Toro Rosso, It made me think of Red Bull.. Is Seb with Kimi?" Bruno asked.

"No one knows what the fuck is with those two. One minute they're making out in the pit-lane like hounds and the next they're screaming curse words at eachother." Romain sighed.

"I heard some rumours, you know.. But I didn't want to believe false information."

"What did you hear?"

"That Seb cheated on Kimi with his physio, Heikki and that's why Seb fired Heikki this year."

"Seb fired Heikki?" Romain asked, sitting up straight.

"Yeah, and he got hired to be Hulkenberg's trainer this year."

"But you said they were rumours."

"Well, the cheating part. But the fact Seb fired Heikki is true.. Because Heikki told me. We're friends."

"I can't believe he fired him."

"Well, if the cheating rumours are true.. Maybe he worked things out with Kimi and decided it would be best to not have Heikki as his physio anymore."

"Probably a smart idea." Romain replied.

\----  
Scene - Sebastian Vettel / Kimi Raikkonen

Raikkonen knew he should be in Abu Dhabi, at Ferrari, training and preparing for testing. But here he was, in Germany, at Sebs house. They were on the couch, Seb wrapped up in his arms. It'd been forever since they cuddled like this.

"I have to get a flight tomorrow." Kimi said, running his fingers down the German's scrawny arm. 

"I know.. I should be heading out soon, too. Dan's already at Red Bull and they keep whinging about how I'm not there helping." Seb murmured, nuzzling his head against Kimi's chest.

"Poor them." Kimi replied with a smirk. "You're all mine right now. They can't have you."

Seb smiled. "Got that right." He moved to kiss Kimi on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you, too." Kimi whispered softly, pulling him closer.

Seb looked over to the couch cushion beside them. Seb's phone was blinking, alerting him that he had a new text and beside it it said 'From: Heikki'

The German quickly reached a hand over and clicked his phone off, then looked back to the tv, his mind wandering to places he didn't want it to wander off to. He couldn't help it though. He didn't know why Heikki was texting him. What did he want? Was it an emergency? Was Heikki mad? He closed his eyes, trying to push all the stupid thoughts from his head.

"You okay?" Kimi asked, looking down at the blonde.

"Tired." Seb murmured.

"Sleep.. I'm not going anywhere." Kimi said, smiling softly.

Seb nodded slowly and let himself drift off into a deep sleep.

\----  
Scene - Lewis Hamilton

"You're not listening."

"Because you're not making sense!" Rosberg exclaimed.

"I explained it 5 different ways!"

"Well, it still makes no damn sense!"

"Then just forget it." Lewis stood up and walked out of the room. Things had gone downhill the past few weeks, ever since after the race in Brazil, him and Rosberg had been fighting constantly, which wasn't good. They were supposed to be team-mates and it's important to have a good relationship with your team-mate.

"Don't walk away like a baby." Rosberg muttered.

"I'm walking away because I'm tired of always fucking explaining everything to you like you're a child. Grow up." Lewis replied, angrily.

The two were at the Mercedes base and Lewis had been trying to explain a graph to Rosberg for the past hour. He'd finally given up and lost his patience.

"You grow up." Rosberg muttered.

Lewis sighed and kept walking, heading outside and to his car. He got in and started the engine. It had been a long day and he just wanted to go to bed.


	9. Tongue Tied Over Three Words

Scene - Jerez Winter Testing

"It's cold." Lewis muttered, huddled up in the back of his garage with a hat on. The rain had been coming down hard for the past hour and they'd all just arrived at the circuit about 30 minutes ago. That made only 30 minutes of the required 9 hours for the day. It was supposed to be hot and Sunny, but no. A storm had rolled in and ruined everything.

"Stop complaining." Nico replied, sitting down and checking Twitter on his phone.

"I wasn't complaining, I was making a statement." Lewis muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Hi." Sergio smiled, walking in.

"Mate! Hey!" Lewis pulled him into a hug. "Finally! Good to see you. How was your Winter?" He asked.

"Good." Sergio grinned. "The apartment is great and I'm really loving Switzerland. The food is amazing and Esteban is a great flat-mate." 

"Good, good. That's wonderful." Lewis replied.

"Hi, Sergio." Rosberg said, waving.

"Hi." The Mexican replied, with a friendly smile. "Do you know if Jenson is here yet?"

"Yeah, everyone's here.. He should be in his garage." Lewis replied, sitting down. "I'll see you on the circuit, kay mate?"

"Yeah." Sergio nodded and gave a wave before heading to the McLaren garages. He hadn't seen Jenson since his goodbye at the McLaren center in December. It was now late January.

He looked around, there was engineers and pit-crew all over the place. He looked at the McLaren, it looked nice. But it was missing its usual "Fire truck red" colour. Instead, it was all silver/grey with hints of gunmetal down the sides.

"Nice, yeah?" A voice asked. 

Sergio looked up to see Kevin. "Oh-.. Yeah. Hi."

"Hi. Great weather.. Right?" Kevin asked sarcastically.

"Uh.. Yeah." Sergio looked out at the circuit. Puddles of water had collected through the turns and it was still coming down. "Hope it stops soon. Do you know where Jenson is?" He asked.

"Yeah, in the back, watching TV."

Sergio nodded and headed into the room. Jenson sat by himself on a white, leather couch, watching the weather channel on the big screen hanging from the wall in front of him. "Surprise."

Jenson looked up. "Checo!" He rose from his seat to hug him. "Glad you're here, I am SO bored waiting for this rain to stop."

Sergio smirked. "You could try reading."

"No way. I'll fall asleep." Jenson frowned. 

Sergio and Jenson had a LOT in common, but when it came to books, they were complete opposite. Sergio loved to read and he would read just about anything. Jenson, on the other hand, wasn't a fan of books. He didn't much like the newspaper either.

"So, how've you been?"

"Good.. Switzerland is nice. Just different." He said as they sat on the couch.

"Cold?"

"Yeah. It snows a lot."

Jenson laughed. "Haha, that sucks. You have to deal with snow."

"Hey! It's not that bad." He murmured, leaning against him. It wasn't even weird. They were best friends.. Why would it be weird? They were nearly brothers.. They were close.. So, no, it couldn't be weird.

"How's Kevin?"

"Good."

"No, I mean.. As a team-mate." Sergio murmured.

"Oh.. He's fine. He's nice.. There hasn't been any problems. He's a little shy, mostly keep to himself."

"So you guys are friends?" 

"Yeah. We've bonded quite a bit over the Winter."

Sergio went quiet. God, Kevin really was his replacement.

"He can't replace you though.. You know, you were first. You're my best friend.. He couldn't come between that.." Jenson said, not wanting him to think he was only going to be hanging out with Kevin from now on.

"I know." Sergio hugged his arm. "I hope your car is good this year."

"I should be saying that to you." Jenson smirked.

"Hey, I got podiums in Sauber."

"Yeah, I know.. But look at how the car was last year for Nico and Esteban."

"It wasn't too bad. Could've been better, but still not too bad." Sergio said.

An engineer opened the door. "Rain has calmed down. We're going to have you and Kevin get suited up."

Jenson nodded. "Alrighty." He and Sergio stood. "I will see you in a bit."

Sergio nodded. "See you." He said, before heading out of the room and back to his own garages. Esteban was talking with Monisha about how he was teaching Sergio German. She looked at him when he walked in. "Wie gehts, Sergio?" She asked.

Sergio made a face. "Uhm.."

She and Esteban began to laugh. "I asked you how you are.. In German, dear."

"Oh.." He went red. "I forgot."

"Yeah, yeah." Esteban smirked. "Rain stopped."

"Yeah, finally." Sergio replied, taking his scarf off. "I'm so excited to get in the car."

After 35 minutes of waiting for the track to dry a bit, cars were starting to head out to see how they ran. 

"I lost power." Seb said over the radio, confused.

"We're looking into that. Go ahead and get out of the car." An engineer replied.

Frustrated, he hopped out of his Red Bull and headed back down to the pit lane. He crossed his arms as he walked, freezing. "Stupid car.." He muttered. He was getting lost in his anger when a car came sliding and spinning down the circuit and smashed into the barriers about 50 feet from where he was walking.

He stopped, his eyes wide. It was one of the McLarens. He stood there, waiting for the driver to get out of the car. Medics and marshals hurried over and Seb realised it was bad.

He hurried back to the pits, and saw Kevin watching a screen in the McLaren garage. "Jenson crashed?"

"Yeah.." Kevin breathed. Engineers were gathering around the screen to watch. Their faces still, eyes full of worry. How could this happen during testing? He must've been going fast. Really fast. Plus there was still enough water on the circuit to make it slippery.

Seb bit at his lower lip. "He's not getting out."

Kevin didn't say anything. He was absolutely horrified. This was only testing and things were already going wrong. The last thing he'd wanted to see was his team-mate crash.

"What happened?" Sergio ran over, frantically. He looked up at the screens to see that the ambulance was being loaded with Jenson on a gurney. 

"Jenson lost control of the car and crashed. It was bad." Seb replied.

Sergio looked at the German. "What's the closest hospital?"

"You can't leave testing." Kevin said.

Sergio ignored him as Seb told him the name of the hospital they'd probably taken him to. He hurried back to the Sauber garages. "Moni.." He murmured. "I have to go see if he's alright."

Monisha nodded. "Just be back before the PM session, okay? And send him our well wishes."

"I will." He said, before hurrying to his car. It was funny. He drove for Sauber, who had Ferrari engines, but he drove a Mercedes on the streets. 

When he arrived at the hospital, he spotted a very pregnant Jessica in the waiting area. "Hey." He said softly, walking over.

"Hey." She pushed herself up from her seat and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm glad you're here.. I haven't heard anything and I don't want to be alone." She murmured, sniffing.

"He'll be okay.. He's strong." Sergio told her. 

"I know.. The accident just looked so awful and when he didn't get out of the car, I just.." She shook her head. "I got so worried."

"Me too." He frowned, sitting down with her. "How's the baby?"

"She's doing good." Jess told him, digging around in her oversized purse. She pulled out some sonogram photos and showed him. "Can you make out where she is in the photo? It's a bit blurry."

"Yeah.. Head.. Legs.. I think that's an arm." Sergio said, pointing. "So tiny." He added.

"Yeah. I'll be 5 months tomorrow. Doctor told me I'm already showing more than average." She said, placing a hand on her round stomach. "You have siblings, don't you?"

"Yeah, my brother and sister. They're both older than me, so I'm mom's baby." He laughed.

"That's cute though." She replied, looking at him. "Having a good relationship with your parents and siblings is important."

Sergio couldn't help but think of Esteban and feel kind of guilty. Their family situations were so different. Luckily he was snapped out of his thoughts when a tall, tan doctor with long hair walked over. "You're here for Jenson?" He asked, taking in Sergio's racing suit.

"Yes." Jessica stood up.

"He's going to be just fine. But unfortunately, he has fractured his right wrist and won't be able to race for at least 6 weeks."

"But he's okay? No brain damage?"

"Nope, everything checked out just fine." The doctor said, nodding.

"Oh, thank God." She breathed. "What room is he in?"

"209." He told them before he waved and headed down the hall.

Sergio and Jessica walked the opposite way and found the room, heading inside. Jenson was sitting up, on his phone.

"Babe." She hurried over and hugged him gently.

"I'm alright. Don't worry." He said, running his fingers through her hair. 

She kissed his cheek. "Don't worry? You haven't seen the accident! It was horrible." She frowned.

"Yeah, it didn't feel all that great, either." He said, still having his usual sense of humour. He looked over at Sergio. "You look like you saw Maldonado." He joked. "I'm fine, mate."

Sergio just looked at him. He knew he was telling the truth, but it didn't mean it hadn't scared the hell out of him. Jenson insisted Jessica go back to their hotel and rest before she put too much stress on the baby. She reluctantly agreed and kissed him again, before heading out.

Sergio was still standing with his back against the wall, looking at the floor.

"You okay?"

"No." Sergio murmured. "This is why I hate the sport. It's not safe. If someone told me it was impossible to get hurt while racing, I wouldn't ever retire! But come on.. This kind of stuff shouldn't happen during testing, I mean.. What if you'd really gotten hurt?"

"I did." Jenson smirked, holding up his bandaged wrist. "I'll miss all of testing and maybe the first race of the year."

"I'm serious! What if it had been worse?" Sergio exclaimed, looking upset.

"Ay.. Calm down, it's all fine.." Jenson frowned. "I'm gonna' be fine." He added, but got no response. "Checo."

Sergio went over and sat beside him. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"No one wants to get hurt or see others get hurt. But look.. We're racers, we put ourselves into danger-mobiles and race against a bunch of nobheads. There's bound to be an accident here or there.." Jenson said softly, looking at him. He had to drop the jokes, noticing he'd been crying.

"I'm sorry it scared you.."

\----  
Scene - Sebastian Vettel / Kimi Raikkonen

"Ugh. Horrible." Kimi muttered, shutting off the TV screen as it kept showing replays of the crash in between weather graphs and times. 

"I know." Seb replied, walking up to him and wrapping his arms around. "He's okay, though."

"That's good. Did the team figure out why your car stopped?"

"Yeah, they're gonna' change the gearbox." Seb pouted.

"Oh, poor you." Kimi laughed, ruffling his hair.

"I'm so glad we're still together." Seb murmured, resting his head on Kimi's chest. "I thought I was going to end up alone."

"Seb.. No matter what, I could never stay mad at you forever."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Kimi smiled.

\--- Scene / After Testing Day 1.

Sergio and Jenson had showed up for the PM session and Stoffel Vandoorne took Jenson's place in the car for the day and it was announced later that he would be in the car for the rest of testing.

Giedo headed into the McLaren garage. "Jenson.. Hey, you, Kevin and Stoffel want to join Sergio, Nico, Esteban and I for dinner?"

"Yeah, sounds great. Kev'?" He asked, looking over at the blonde. 

"Yeah. Let me go get Stoffel." Kevin said, heading into the back room. 

Sergio walked over with Nico and Esteban. 

"So you're alright?" Nico asked.

"Fractured my wrist, but I'll be fine." Jenson said.

Kevin came back with Stoffel. "Lets go"

They headed to Giedo's car. He drove a Range Rover and it was big and roomy. Once they'd all piled in, Giedo drove to an Italian restuarant and they headed inside to a huge table in the back.

Kevin broke the silence once they were seated. "So, Esteban.. I heard that you were living with Nico for awhile?"

"Yeah.. But I live with Sergio now. Nico lives in England now." Esteban replied, watching Nico nod and pull bread apart.

"Why aren't you living at home?" Kevin asked.

"I was.. It just.. Didn't work out very well."

Kevin looked at him. "Why?"

"Uhm.." Esteban looked around. "Not much room."

"But.. That shouldn't matter. When you're with family, the only thing that matters is that you're together. Don't you want to go home to family dinners? Vacations? Making memories in between races?" Kevin asked.

Esteban looked at the table. He could never have any of that and the more he realised that, the more it hurt. He stood up. "Excuse me for a moment.." He left the table.

Sergio glared at Kevin. "It's really none of your businesses."

"I was just trying to get to know him."

Sergio rolled his eyes and started to get up, but Nico raised a hand. "I'll get him." He said, getting up and going to look for Esteban.

He found him outside, leaning against the brick wall at the side of the building. He was staring up at the sky, his arms folded against his chest.

".. You okay?"

He sniffed and looked over, watching as Nico hurried over. "Kevin doesn't know."

"I know, but it still hurt.. It makes me realise how much it actually sucks. Everyone else is so lucky to have parents who are loving and caring.. But me? No." He murmured.

Nico put his arms around him. "I'm sorry."

Esteban sniffed again and turned, leaning into his embrace. "You're a good friend."

Friend. The word rang through Nico's ears. Why did that bum him out? They were friends. What was wrong with being just friends? 

Nico looked at him for a second and then kissed his cheek. "I love you." He blurted out.


	10. Begging You For Forgiveness

Scene - Nico Hulkenberg / Esteban Gutierrez

Esteban took a small step back, looking at the tall blonde. "What?" He breathed.

Nico blinked. "Uh.. You know.. As a friend."

"You kissed me."

"Yeah.. It's not a big deal." Nico shrugged. "Sorry."

"No.." Esteban breathed. "Don't be sorry-.. I mean-.. I just didn't expect it."

Nico blushed and looked at the restaurant. "We should head back inside."

Esteban nodded and followed the German back inside. Kevin looked up. "I'm sorry.."

"No. It's fine." Esteban said, taking his seat. 

After they ate, Giedo took them back to the hotel they were staying at in Jerez and they headed their seperate ways. Except for Esteban, who followed Nico to his room and inside.

"I've been thinking."

"'Bout what?" Nico asked, taking his coat off.

"What you said. Nico-.. I know how you meant it. It didn't sound like a friendly statement. It sounded much more than that."

Nico bit his bottom lip. "I.. I'm not going to push it aside anymore, Esteban. When you're around me.. I'm happier than when you're not.. I feel all weird inside.. Like.. when you go on a roller coaster and you get this rush of.. adrenaline"

Esteban looked at him.

"I think we're more than just friends."

"But what if you're the only one of that feels that way?" Esteban asked quietly, looking at the ground.

\----  
Scene - Lewis Hamilton / Sergio Perez

Lewis looked up from his book. Someone was knocking at his door.. It was nearly midnight, so he knew it wasn't Rosberg. Rosberg never stayed up that late. "Who is it?"

"Me." Sergio replied.

Lewis knew who it was by his voice. "One sec', Checo." He said, as he leapt up from the bed and went to unlock the door. "Hey, what's up, Mate?"

"Can't sleep." He murmured. "The people next door to my room are having sex like wild animals."

Lewis smirked. "Oh wow." He replied, letting him in. "Wanna' sleep here?"

"Yeah." Sergio said, heading to the other bed. "Thanks."

"Sure." Lewis said, closing and locking the door. He headed back over to his own bed and sat down. He picked up the book he'd been reading, but glanced over at Sergio, who was staring at his phone.

The younger driver was texting his brother, who was telling him about what they did for their moms birthday. He felt guilty for not being able to be there, especially after he told Sergio how she wasn't completely happy to celebrate without him there. He sighed quietly and layed down, facing the window.

Lewis glanced over, wondering if something was wrong. "Checo.."

"Yeah?" Sergio asked, rolling over to face his friend.

"What's up? You're quiet."

"Miss my family.. I always have a hard time going from Winter break to In-Season."

"Me too. But.. The cool thing is, being around all the drivers is like a second family, you know?"

Sergio nodded. "Yeah. You're right."

\----

Scene - Sebastian Vettel / Heikki Huovinen

Seb was cranky. He liked Ricciardo as a friend, but he'd much rather be sharing a room with Kimi. Some drivers were lucky and got rooms to themselves, but Seb got stuck sharing with Daniel.

He looked over at the Aussie, who was sleeping silently on the other bed in the room. Seb picked up his phone and checked his texts and saw a new one from Heikki. God, what did he want now?

12:57 AM - "Can we talk?"

Seb read the message over a few times, as if each time he'd think of a different response until he found the right one. He finally sighed and replied.

12:59 AM - "Yes, meet me in the lobby."

Seb pushed send and quietly got up, pulling on his team hoodie and throwing on some sneakers, before sneakily heading out of the room and down the hall. As he passed the rooms, he could hear sex coming from the room next to Sergio's. It had to be Romain and Jules. Who else would be up at this hour having sex? Seb wished he and Kimi were.

He went down a flight of stairs and into the lobby. It was dark and empty except for Heikki, who was on one of the sofa's, looking all-around pathetic. 

"Hey." Seb murmured, walking over and sitting beside him. But not too close, he wanted at least a good couple of feet of distance between them.

"Sebastian.." Heikki breathed, looking at the German. He longed to have him back. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Seb asked, blinking. 

"For being selfish and ruining things between you and Kimi."

"No, Heikki.. It's fine. Everything's good with him and I now."

"But nothing's fine with us. We don't talk and I miss you. You fired me."

"I wanted distance. I wanted Kimi to see that I was serious about not cheating on him again."

"So you fired me?"

"Heikki. You're a physio. Do you think Kimi wants your hands on me?"

"Well, no. But it's my job. It's not like I was touching you to make him jealous."

"It doesn't matter. I did what felt right and you need to respect that." Seb told him, crossing his arms and leaning back against the couch cushions.

"I want us to stay friends."

"I don't know."

"Seb.. Please." Heikki whispered. He felt like he was being torn apart. Seb was his best friend. He couldn't handle life without him.

"Heikki.. I can't."

"Why? Being friends isn't going to ruin anything!"

"Heikki! I can't!" The German stood up. "Make new friends. I love Kimi and I don't want to be around you, because it reminds me of what we did. I don't want to think about that anymore!"

Heikki stood and looked at him. "You make me want to die." He whispered, before heading outside.

Seb pressed his hands against his face and groaned. Just what he needed, Heikki to start talking all suicidal and shit. "Fuck" He muttered. He stood there, debating on following him or just going back to bed. It's not like Heikki was his responsibility or anything. He didn't need to baby him.

\----

Scene - Heikki Houvinen / Kevin Magnussen

Heikki wandered out of the hotel and around back to the pool, so he could be alone and think. He didn't really mean what he'd said to Seb. He didn't want to die, but Seb's distance made him sure feel like he was dying. He opened the gate to the pool area and was shocked to find someone out there already.

"Hello?" Heikki asked.

The person turned around. It was Kevin. "Hey."

Heikki recognised him and walked over, sitting beside him. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"Jenson's been on the phone with his fiance all night, so I came out here to give him some privacy. What about you?"

"I had a fight with Seb.. Eh, not really a fight, but he basically hates me and it sucks.. Because.. He's been one of my best friends for years and now it feels like we'll never be like that ever again." Heikki mumbled, looking at the water.

"Why is he angry at you? I mean, it's not my business or anything.. But if you want to talk.." Kevin offered.

"Oh.. We had a thing, but.. He cheated on Kimi and now he's back with him and doesn't even want to be friends with me anymore."

"Give him time.. He sounds like he's just being extra cautious right now. He loves Kimi more than anything in the world."

Heikki nodded. "I know.. It just hurts." He murmured. "He was really my only close friend. I don't really know anyone else."

"Neither do I, and as far as I'm concerned, no one really likes me too much." Kevin sighed.

"No one really knows you. Give them time."

"Maybe it's the same for you."

Heikki shrugged. "Who knows. Bet you could make more friends than me."

Kevin laughed. "How much are you betting?"

"The fact that I'd be right." Heikki laughed. "So, how old are you? I heard you're some racing God or something."

"20. 21 in a few months. I just won the Formula Renault championship." 

"Congrats. I've never really raced. I always wanted to be more involved in sports medicine and health. But.. I mean, I know a lot about the cars and everything."

"What's our torque?" Kevin asked.

Heikki blinked. "Uhm.."

Kevin laughed. "Nice. I'll have to teach you some things."

"Apparently so." Heikki agreed. "I should head back to my room and get to bed. So should you." He added, standing up.

"Yeah." Kevin stood and followed him out of the pool area and back into the Hotel. "See you tomorrow." He told Heikki, with a wave, as he walked into his and Jenson's room. Jenson was no longer on the phone, but on his laptop.

"You're still awake?"

"How was I supposed to sleep until I knew baby Kevin was back and tucked in?" Jenson smirked.

Kevin went red. "Shut up.. Oh my God."

Jenson laughed and looked back to his laptop's screen. "Did you see this?" He asked, waving him over.

"What?" Kevin asked, sitting beside him and staring at the screen. It was an article about McLaren and how they were going to be the winning team of the year. Jenson snorted. "Yeah right."

"What? You don't think we'll get any wins?"

"Did you not see what happened today? The car is uncontrolable." Jenson said, holding up his wrist.

"Yeah, but.. The team can fix that. That's what testing's for."

"Ugh, Kev'. You're such an optimist." Jenson stuck his tongue out.

"Sorry." Kevin laughed, heading to his own bed. 

\----  
Scene - Jerez Test Day 2.

"Holy crap.." Nico muttered as he and Giedo walked from the hotel to the track. "Hot."

It was hot. Really hot. The weather had done a complete 360 from yesterday. The clouds had been replaced with blue skies and the rain replaced with sunshine. It was a perfect day for testing.

"Feels good." Giedo said, stretching his arms above his head. "So much warmer."

"Too warm." Nico frowned. "So.. I totally fucked things up last night."

"With what?"

Nico was about to tell him, but suddenly wasn't sure if it was a good idea to open up about having lovey-dovey feelings towards his team-mate. "Uh.."

"Uh, what?" Giedo looked over at him.

"I told this chick I liked her and she wasn't quite sure about it.. And we're good friends, but I think I messed it up." Nico said. It wasn't a complete lie. That's what happened, just not with a chick. It was with Esteban, and that would've probably sounded a million times worse.

"Ah.. Don't worry. I'm sure you two will figure things out." Giedo said, heading into the Force India garages. The engineers were already there, preparing the cars for the start of the 9 hour session.

"Hope so." Nico replied, heading for the back room to change. When he returned it was 5 minutes until green light. He stretched and tried to get into focus. It was hard though. He hadn't talked to Esteban since last night and hadn't had the chance this morning since he hadn't shown up in the Hotel diner for Breakfast.

Nico wasn't the only one wondering where Esteban was because Monisha questioned Sergio when he arrived in the Sauber garages.

"Why isn't Esteban with you?" She asked, looking up from paperwork, her brows furrowed into confusion.

"I don't know.." He shrugged. "Running late, I guess."

"You shared a room with him. Didn't he see you leave?"

"I didn't err.. Sleep in our room last night."

She looked at him. 

"I spent the night with Lewis.. I mean.. On the other bed.. Like.. Yeah, I stayed in his room. I couldn't sleep in my room, the people in the room beside ours were uh.." He stopped, not wanting to say something inappropriate. "They were being romantic.. Loudly."

She snickered. "Oh dear. Okay." She said, continuing to laugh. "I'm sorry."

He smirked. "It was funny for awhile.. But.. They kept going."

She looked around and then whispered. "Was it drivers?"

He laughed. "I don't know.. But Lewis suggested it was."

"You two are funny." She sighed, resting her cheek on her hand. "Go suit up." She told him, looking back to her papers.

"Yes, Moni'." He replied, heading into the back room. 

"BOO!"

"Shit! Oh my God!" Sergio jumped back.

"You scream like a girl." Jenson doubled over with a fit of laughter. He'd been waiting for 10 minutes to scare him.

"I can't believe you!" Sergio gasped, going to slap him.

"Hey! You can't hit a wounded!" Jenson held up his hand.

"Oh, shut up. So unbelievable." The dark-haired driver shook his head, smirking. "Was Monisha in on that? Did she know you were back here?" He asked, gathering his racing overalls and helmet.

"No. She wasn't here when I got here." Jenson said, plopping down on the couch.

"Have you seen Esteban?"

"No. Have you seen my phone?" 

"No, did you lose it?" Sergio asked.

"Yeah. I was talking to Jessica last night before I went to bed and I couldn't find it this morning."

"Boo hoo. You'll have to go without texting for one day." Sergio murmured, pulling his undershirt on, before stepping into the racing overalls and zipping them up. "I have to go be productive." He smirked. 

"Oh yeah.. I'll watch, then I won't feel so bad about not being productive." Jenson laughed, following him out of the room. 

Sergio got into the car, helmet on and pulled on his gloves. 

"Okay, installation lap and then come back." His engineer said.

"Copy." Sergio left the garage and drove down the pit-lane and on to the circuit.

Jenson sat beside Monisha. "Hey."

"Hi, Dear." She greeted him. "How's your wrist?"

"Not bad. Doesn't hurt much, just a little sore. Bummed I'll miss testing."

"I know. It's important." She frowned, tapping her pen against the edge of the table. "Hopefully they'll be able to gather enough information for you from Stoffel driving the car. Do you two have a similar set-up?" She asked.

"Not really. I mean, some things are similar, but other things are completely different."

She nodded, then looked at the time. "Will you do me a favour?"

"Of course. Please, make me useful. I feel dull." He laughed.

"Could you go to the hotel, to Sergio and Esteban's room and see if Esteban is there and if he's not, check the lobby and diner?"

"Sure thing." He got up and headed for the hotel. When he got there, he decided to check the lobby first. A quick glance gave him the answer 'Nope, not here' - He then headed to the Diner and found it empty apart from a cute old couple sharing a piece of pie. 

When he got to the room number, he knocked. There was silence. He knocked again. "Esteban? Are you in there?"

Jenson heard the sound of the door being unlocked from the other side.


	11. You Know I Can't Fight The Feeling

Scene - Esteban Gutierrez / Jenson Button

Esteban opened the door and leaned against it. He was pale and groggy.

"Hey.. Everyone's looking for you. The session started a-.." Jenson stopped, looking at him, taking in his appearance. "You okay?"

"My head-..." He murmured, closing his eyes.

Jenson moved forward, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and moving him towards the bed. "Lay." He said, helping him. "Are you sick?"

"No.." He murmured, curling up. "I get these."

"Migraines?"

"Mm." He shut his eyes. 

Jenson shut the curtains. "You shouldn't have these open. Did you take any Tylenol?

"No." Esteban murmured. "Don't have any."

"Okay.. I'm gonna' go get you some and let Monisha know what's going on.. I'll be right back." He stood and hurried back to the circuit.

"You find him?" Monisha asked.

"He's got a migraine and can barely sit up.. He should stay in bed."

She frowned. "Okay.. I'll have Sergey run the car today. Thank you for finding him."

"No problem.. I'm gonna' stay with him for a bit, make sure he's okay."

"Thank you, dear." She said greatfully, before hurrying off to find Sergey.

Jenson went back to the hotel and got some tylenol from the little shop in the lobby, then headed back to Esteban's room, where he was still curled up on the bed, digging his nails into his scalp where the pain throbbed in his skull

Jenson sat beside him, on the bed. "Here.. Take these." He said, offering him two pills and a bottle of water.

Esteban sat up, weakly. His eyes half open, trying not to allow any light into his sensitive vision. He took the pills and then lay back down. "Feels like someone's stabbing my head." He breathed, placing his arm over his eyes.

There was a knock on the door and Esteban whined. Jenson got up. "Who is it?"

"It's me." Nico said. Jenson let him in. 

"Thanks for staying with him, I'll stay now." Nico said. Nico had heard from Monisha that Esteban was feeling under the weather and he'd managed to get Force India's test driver, Daniel, to take over so he could go take care of his friend.

"No problem. I'll let you two be, let me know if you need anything." Jenson said, then headed back to the circuit.

Nico got on the bed. "You okay?"

"Hurts." Esteban groaned, rolling over to look at the German. 

"I know.. I'm sorry." Nico frowned, reaching out to run his fingers through his hair. He pulled the younger driver into his arms. "Try to sleep."

Esteban layed his head under Nico's chin, closing his his eyes. "I was thinking about everything."

"About what?" Nico asked, rubbing his back.

"I love you."

Nico smiled softly. "Really?"

"Yeah." Esteban replied, finding Nico's hand and intertwining their fingers. 

"I love you, too." Nico whispered.

\---  
"We have red flag. Session has been red-flagged." A marshal announced, walking up and down the pit-lane.

There'd been an accident between Felipe Massa and Oliver Turvey.

Massa climbed from his car, looking annoyed and pissed off. "What the fuck was that?" He threw his hands in the air.

Oliver rubbed the back of his own neck, sore from the impact. "Sorry-.. My brakes failed. It wasn't my fault."

"You could've TURNED." Massa exclaimed.

"I tried. I was going too fast." Oliver replied. "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

Massa just shook his head in annoyance. "I'm annoyed!"

Oliver sighed and turned, walking back to his car where the marshals were hooking it to the flatbed truck to take it back to the garages. He walked back to the garages and watched as they brought the car in and started working on it.

Ericsson looked over. "Brakes?"

"Yeah."

"I'm having problems with them too."

"We'll look into that." The main engineer told them.

"Kay.. Let me know when the car is ready.. I'm gonna' go see the McLaren boys." Oliver said, walking to their garages.

Jenson looked up from his phone. "Ollieee, ayy."

"Hey." He sat beside him. "My brakes failed."

"I saw.." He looked at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Felipe had a fit though."

"Always does." Jenson smirked. "He's easily annoyed."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you know why I didn't get Sergio's seat?"

"I have no clue. Stoffel asked the same thing. I guess they really believe in Kevin.. But.. I don't know. I'm sure you'll get a better seat next year. Caterham's okay, but you won't win in one."

"I know. That's what sucks.. Spending your whole season coming in last.. If you're lucky maybe 19th."

Jenson nodded. "Yeah.. But in one way, it's always better to start on a smaller team, so you can learn more."

"True." Oliver replied, looking out at the circuit. "

\---

Scene - After Day 2 of Testing

All 22 drivers were gathering in the Diningroom for dinner and it had been reserved just for them so that they could have open conversations without random people listening in.

"I don't know, it's probably just your car." Alonso told Kimi as they sat down. "My brakes feel fine."

Kimi grunted, staring at a menu. He'd been having issues with the braking on his Ferrari.

Esteban walked in with Nico. They'd discussed that they'd have to make sure that their sudden relationship wasn't obvious. They didn't want anyone to know anytime soon.

They sat at a table with Monisha, who was still doing paperwork. She looked up. "Hey, boys. How are you feeling?" She asked Esteban.

"Better." He replied. "Where's Sergio?"

"He's sitting with McLaren."

Nico looked around, spotting him with Jenson, Kevin, Stoffel and Oliver who'd opted to sit with them as well, instead of with Caterham. Because of this, Ericsson was sitting alone. He insisted to Oliver that he didn't mind, but he kind of did. Not many people were friends with him. It wasn't him, he was friendly and had a good attitude, but most people didn't pay too much attention to the back-marker teams.

"The car feels okay now?" Jenson was asking Stoffel, as he shoved chicken into his mouth.

"Yeah, brakes seem to be working alright now." The Belgian said.

"I don't understand the steering. It's like I'm using twice the force to move the front wheels." Kevin said, moving his fork around his food.

Sergio looked at him. "Did you try changing the set-up?"

"No."

"Try." He replied, sounding slightly annoyed at Kevin's lack of knowledge 

Kevin looked back to his food, continuing to pick at his food. 

Jenson tried to start up a more happy conversation. "So.. The food is good." He said, but got no reply. He could tell there was some tension between his ex-team mate and his new one.

"Want to hang out tomorrow after testing?" Oliver asked Serio.

"Yeah, sure. What do you want to do?"

"We could check out the city a little better."

"Sure, sounds good. I'll swing by your room after I change out of my racing stuff." Sergio said, finishing his food.

Kevin looked at them, silently, then stood up. "I'm tired, so I'm gonna' head to our room." He mumbled.

"Night, Kev'." Jenson said, with a wave.

Kevin headed up the stairs and down the hall to the room. He changed into his pajamas and got into bed. He felt like shit. He'd expected to make friends and have people want to be around him, but he felt like everyone was ignoring him. He could only think of one way to make everything better.

\----  
The next morning, Kevin headed to the circuit early and walked to the Sauber garages, where Sergio was sitting, waiting for the others.

"Hey, can I talk to you?"

Sergio looked up from his phone. "Okay. What's up?"

Kevin walked over and sat across from him. "I'm sorry that they kicked you off the team to choose me.. I feel.. guilty. I know how much you wanted to stay on the team. But, it's not my fault.. There's nothing I can do to fix it. I don't want you to hate me because of what happened."

Sergio blinked. "I don't hate you. Relax."

"You don't?"

"No. I guess I just felt kind of jealous. I mean, it sucks.. To be chose to be on one of the biggest and best teams in F1 history, only to be booted off the next year, because you underperformed in a car that wasn't able to perform the way the team wanted it to."

"I completely understand." Kevin murmured. "I know you were hurt and angry."

"Yeah." Sergio murmured, staring at the floor. "So, you know.. Of course I was jealous when they replaced me with someone younger and apparently more talented. It felt like a kick in the face."

"You're way more talented than me." Kevin said. "Trust me. I have no experience in these cars. You've got 3 years worth of experience. If anyone deserves to win or get points and podiums, it's you. Not me."

".. That's not really true. You deserve to win, too. But you need to learn first, is all."

"I know."

"Okay.. Good, then.. Everything is fine. We're friends, so.. It's not a big deal." He nudged his arm and Kevin smiled.

"Hello, boys." Monisha said, walking in with an armful of papers.

"Hi, Moni'." Sergio greeted. "This is the new McLaren driver."

"Ah, finally. Nice to meet you. Sorry, I've been busy or I would've come said Hello." She shook his hand. "I heard you're just 20."

Kevin nodded. "Yeah."

"Keep yourself humble and focused." She told him. "And you'll go far."

"I will. Thank you." He said, standing up. "I should get to my garage before they come looking for me or something." He laughed.

Sergio waved. "See you."

\----  
"You always want to be right! That's why we never get anywhere with any of this!" Lewis yelled.

"You're the one that always insists you know what you're doing!"

"Because I'm older! I've been doing this longer! Get the know-it-all stick out of your ass and focus on your own car! 

"Fuck you, Lewis." Rosberg spat, walking away.

Lewis groaned and stormed into the back room of his garage and shut the door. He pulled out his phone and called Nicole.

"Hey, babe." She said.

"Hey."

"You sound upset, what's wrong?"

"Rosberg's being a dick. He keeps trying to do things to help with my car, but he's making it worse."

"You can't let him get to you. Talk to Niki if it's bothering you that much. You know he won't put up with Rosberg acting like a brat." She said with a sigh.

"You're right. I'm sorry.. How've you been?"

"Good.. I uhm, I got something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to start recording next month, I'm working on a new record."

"Oh, great. Congrats, Nic'." Lewis said, smiling even though she couldn't see.

"Thanks, babe. Good luck with testing today. I'll call you tonight." Nicole said. "Love you."

"Okay, love you, too." Lewis replied, before hanging up.

He got changed into his racing suit and put his helmet on, before heading back to his car. Nicole was right. He had to stop letting Rosberg get to him. He needed to just let it go. 

The engineers told him to take the car for his installation lap. He nodded and headed down the pit-lane and onto the circuit. He needed to clear his mind.   
He closed his eyes, only for a moment. That's all it was, but he knew better, he knew he should've been focusing better, but he wasn't and that's what caused him to slam into another car.


	12. Promising To Love You Harder, Harder, Harder

Scene - Continued from last chapter.

Lewis opened his eyes, blinking slowly. His car was in the middle of a gravel pit. He didn't even bother checking if it would start. His main concern was finding who he hit. He removed the steering wheel and emerged from the car, moving past marshals who were trying to check him. "I'm fine." He said, walking away from his Mercedes.

The other car was a few yards away, smashed into the barriers. The whole front of the car was done-for. The wing, the nose. It was just wrecked. Marshals were crowding around the car, trying to help the driver get out. Lewis finally got close enough to make out the cars colours. Sauber. His stomach dropped and he picked up his pace, running towards the scene.

He ran his hands down his face, waiting, trying to see through the barrier the marshals had created with their own bodies. "Is the driver okay?!" Lewis called. None of the marshals even turned to look at who was yelling.

The driver emerged through the barrier of Marshals, removing his helmet. It was Sergio. Looking a little confused and unsettled, but not injured. Lewis hurried forward.

"Checo.. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Lewis asked, grabbing him into a hug. 

"I'm okay." Sergio replied. "I just-.. Didn't see that coming."

"It's my fault.. I wasn't paying attention." Lewis murmured, now near tears. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay.. Really, don't worry about it." The Mexican insisted. "I feel fine-.. Really." He murmured. But he didn't. He shouldn't've gotten out of the car. He felt himself falling and could hear Lewis yelling something about a medic and then everything went black.

\----  
"Okay, okay-.. Just, first calm down." Monisha was slightly panicked herself, but she needed Lewis to calm down so he could explain what was going on.

He'd showed up at the Sauber garages, freaking out, saying he'd hit Sergio's car and that he'd passed out.

"Did the medics take him?" She asked.

"Yes.." Lewis breathed. 

"To the medical center? Or to the hospital?"

"I don't know." He put his head in his hands.

"It's okay, I'm sure he's fine. Let's go find him." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

He sniffed and walked with her, heading down the pit lane towards the medical center. His hands were shaking and he felt sick. He felt so guilty for being so stupid. He should've never closed his eyes. Monisha took his hand, squeezing it gently. "It's going to be fine."

"It's my fault. I hit him."

"You didn't do it on purpose.."

"It doesn't matter, I wasn't paying attention. I caused the accident because I was being stupid."

"You can't be so hard on yourself."

He just stayed silent as they approached the medical center. He was praying in his head that he was okay. 

Monisha got permission for them to go in and she looked around. Sergio was laying on one of the beds, still unconscious. He was only hooked up to an IV, other than that there were no doctors fussing over him.

"Is he alright?" Lewis asked a doctor that passed by them.

"Oh, yes. There's no injury, he's just dehydrated." The doctor replied, looking at Sergio. "His brain scans came back fine."

Lewis sat on the side of the bed, looking at his friend. Sergio slowly opened his eyes and blinked.

"Hey.. Are you okay?" Lewis asked, watching him.

"Mm.. what happened?" 

"You passed out.. Don't worry, you're just a little dehydrated." Lewis told him. "I'm sorry I crashed into you."

"Lew'.. Really, it's fine." The dark-haired driver murmured, closing his eyes. "I'm just tired."

"Okay.. Just rest.." 

\----  
"We have time, right?" Seb asked, breathing heavily as Kimi pushed him up against the wall. They were in the back room of Seb's garage.

"Yes." Kimi breathed, his hands running down Seb's sides as he felt every inch of his soft skin. The German shut his eyes, tilting his head back as shivers ran through his back. "Kimi." He breathed.

Kimi pressed his lips to the German's neck, kissing him hard, moving up towards his lips. Seb groaned, pulling Kimi's body against his and wrapping his arms around his neck. "Oh God." He breathed as Kimi slipped a hand down his pants.

"Sebastian." A voice gasped.

Kimi jumped and turned around and Vettel stared with wide eyes. Heikki had just come barging into the room.

"What the fuck?" Kimi asked, pulling his pants up.

"I-.." Heikki blinked. "You can't have sex in here!"

"We can do what we want. What are you doing in here?" Seb demanded, looking angry.

"I need to talk to you!"

"Right this fucking moment?" 

"Yes!"

Seb groaned and put his shirt back on. Kimi looked wary about the fact that the two were even still in contact with eachother. 

"Can you give us a minute?" Seb asked Kimi.

"Fine." Kimi walked out and shut the door.

"Don't you fucking knock?" Seb asked, glaring at the blonde.

"I'm sorry! I didn't expect Kimi to have you up against the wall, half fucking naked!"

Seb glared. "So, what do you need that's so important?"

"I need my money."

"What money?"

"The money you owe me for firing me early!"

The German sighed. "This can wait."

"No, it can't."

"Heikki, I swear.. Fuck off."

"Seb.."

"I said Fuck off, Heikki!"

Heikki looked at him and then turned around and left the room. He shoved past Kimi, who was waiting outside of the door and walked back to the Force India garages. 

Nico looked up from where he was sitting with a plate of food for lunch. "Hey.. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Seb's just being a dick." He muttered, grabbing a plate and loading it with chicken and rice, before taking a seat next to Nico. 

"What happened? You wanna' talk about it?"

"He owes me a lot of money. Because he fired me before my contract was up. He owes me thousands and I need it. I have bills to pay and shit and he's basically avoiding the subject. I just walked in on him and Kimi fucking in the back room of Seb's garage."

Nico coughed and stared. "What?"

"Yeah. So disgusting."

"Kimi can't keep it in his pants for more than an hour." Nico muttered, rolling his eyes and grabbing a bottle of water. "All he ever talks about is sex.. Penis, kissing, touching.. blegh." He added, sticking out his tongue.

Heikki laughed, nodding. "It's true. I mean.. I guess Seb doesn't mind though. But, whatever." He waved a hand, dismissing the subject. "How's the car?"

"Super good." Nico said, looking at it. 

"Good. Where's your team-mate?"

"Giedo? He's talking to Esteban in the Sauber garage. Lewis and Sergio had a crash. They're okay, but it was pretty scary-looking."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Testing always seems to be so.. Risky. Because none of you know how the car is going to handle."

"Exactly." Nico nodded, throwing his empty plate away. "How long until PM session?"

"10 minutes." Heikki said.

Nico looked around and then grabbed another plate of chicken. "Don't tell." He said, smirking slightly. "I'm starving and they're always making sure I eat like a bird."

"If you start getting round, I'll have to tell." Heikki laughed.

"Nah, I can't get fat. Impossible." Nico said, sounding ever-so-sure of himself. 

\----  
Scene - After Day 3 of Testing

Sergio emerged from the back room of his garage and zipped up his jacket, heading for Caterham. Monisha insisted that he didn't drive in the PM session, so instead he'd spent the 4 hours with her, helping her with paperwork and watching Esteban drive around the circuit.

"Hey.." He called to Oliver, who was talking with an engineer.

Oliver looked over, then said a prompt goodbye to the engineer and the others, before heading over to Sergio. "Hey, man.. You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Ready to head to the city?"

"Yeah.. You sure you're fine?"

"Yes, yes.. They cleared me and ran all sorts of tests. It was just minor dehydration. I'm fine now, they gave me an IV."

"Okay.. Just checking." Oliver said as they walked to his car. "Who hit you?"

"Lewis.. It was an accident though." Sergio replied, putting his seatbelt on. 

Oliver started the car and drove towards the main city. "I met this girl today." He said, smiling lightly.

"You did? Who?" Sergio asked, watching out the window.

"Her name is Carly.. She works for one of those motorsport websites.. She's 22 and she's like.. Really pretty and she's this huge fan of mine. I think she's totally into me or something." He replied, blushing.

"You like her? Eh? Eh?" Sergio cracked a grin, looking at him. "Come onnnn."

"I do.. I do.. She's really nice. I'm gonna' ask her on a date." Oliver said, turning down a different street. "To dinner."

"Go for it." Sergio replied. "Who knows.. She could end up being your girlfriend or something."

"Yeah, sure." He laughed. "I can't believe Jenson's Wedding is in 2 weeks. It's gonna' be really great. It's so cool that he invited all the drivers.. And you, you're the Best Man, right?"

"Yeah.. I can't believe he asked me."

"Why?"

"I dunno'.. Thought maybe he'd ask someone of family.."

Oliver shrugged. "Me, Kev and Stoffel are groomsmen.. And I know he has a few others.. Lewis and Nico.. Giedo and Esteban."

"He asked Esteban?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know they were friends." Sergio said.

"Guess so." Oliver shrugged as they parked on the side of a busy street.

The sidewalks were packed with couples and families, getting food and shopping. The air was slightly cold and crisp with the scent of cinnamon rolls and fresh grilled burgers.

"Lets go find food first." Sergio suggested, looking at the many different signs of Restaurants and small cafes. Oliver nodded and they headed through the crowds of people.

They decided on a Cafe at the end of the main street and got a table. "Kind of cold outside." The Brit said, rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah, a bit." Sergio said, looking at the menu. "So, how are things at Caterham?"

"Uh.." Oliver made a face. "The braking is out of control and I'm pretty sure I made enemies with Felipe."

Sergio snorted. "Lucky you. I ca-..." He stopped, looking out the window. "Oh my God." 

"What?" Oliver asked, looking.

Across the street from the cafe, Nico and Esteban were walking down the sidewalk, holding hands. They looked to be talking and laughing.

"They're holding hands." Sergio murmured.

"And?"

"Straight guy friends don't hold hands." 

"They don't?"

"Ollie.. If we were walking and I held your hand.. Tell me you wouldn't be completely weirded out."

"Okay, you're right. That would be weird. So you think they're together?"

"I don't know.. I always thought they were just friends. I never assumed they had a thing for eachother."

"Did you think Sebastian and Kimi had a thing for eachother until they started making out in public?"

"Actually, yes. I did think they had a thing for eachother, because Kimi's so touchy-feely." Sergio said. "Like, you could totally tell they wanted to take eachother on ape-style, all the time."

Oliver started laughing and probably too loudly, because the old couple sitting next to them, threw disapproving looks and started grumbling about 'Kids these days' and 'Poor manners'.

"Anyway.." Sergio looked out the window again and found that his team-mate and friend had disappeared in the large crowds. He looked back to Oliver. 

"How are things at Sauber?"

"Good, besides the crash.. The car seems good. Good braking." He smirked.

"Oh, rub it in. You little-.." He was cut off by a waitress who wanted to know if they were going to get anything yet. They both ordered coffee and some type of pastry thing with ham and cheese. 

She walked away and Oliver started laughing again. "I almost swore."

"She would've washed your mouth out with soap."

"Pff. I'm too old for that."

"No, you're not. My mom still tries to ground me." Sergio smirked.

"Oh, wow, Checo. Wow." Oliver shook his head. "So.. Besides the fact Esteban and Nico might be dating, did you hear what's going on between Lewis and Rosberg?" He asked.

Sergio raised an eyebrow. "No, what?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"You won't believe it."


	13. Hey Baby, I Think I Wanna' Marry You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to say a few things while I post this.
> 
> 1\. Thanks for all the Kudos and views, but please leave comments so I know your favourite parts and give me some suggestions of relationships, crashes, race winners. Anything. Thank you :)
> 
> 2\. I know winter testing does not have all 22 drivers test on all 4 days and I know there's usually more than 1 set of 4-day testing, but I decided to switch it up for the story.

Scene - Oliver Turvey / Sergio Perez

"I won't believe what?" Sergio asked.

"Okay, so.. I guess Lewis and Rosberg have been having these fights. And it's not just egos crossing paths. I heard Rosberg slept with Nicole awhile ago and Lewis just found recently."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I mean, I think so. It's what I heard." Oliver said, sipping at his coffee. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"I'm gonna' lose my house."

"What? Why?"

"I had to pay some for my drive this season. And.. My salary isn't going to be as good as it was when I was a reserve on McLaren."

"Do you need money?" Sergio asked. "I can help."

"No, no.. It's.. It's too late. I'll just have to get a smaller place. An apartment or something."

"But you've had that house since you were 19."

"It's fine. I don't need all that room anyway. I only need enough room for myself."

"You could get something closer to Oxfordshire, where the Caterham base is. Or.. Oxfordshire is only about an hour from Woking, maybe you should see if you could live with Stoffel."

"Yeah, that might work." 

"Are you sure you don't need money?"

"No, really.. It's fine. Don't worry." Oliver insisted, finishing his food.

\----  
Scene - 2 Weeks After Testing / Wedding

So, testing had been dramatic. Between the crashes and fights and other random stuff doing down, it had been quite an interesting 4 days in Jerez, Spain.

But now, the drivers were gathered in a big luscious garden in London, awaiting the start of the Ceremony of Jenson and Jessica's wedding.

Rows and rows of white chairs held guests that included drivers, former drivers, family, friends, and people from F1 teams. Sergio, Stoffel, Oliver, Giedo, Nico, Esteban, Kevin and Lewis stood side by side at the alter in gray suits. On the other side stood Jessicas maid of honour, Dasha, who was Alonso's girlfriend. She had 7 bridesmaids as well, including Chilton's girlfriend, and Bottas's girlfriend, Nicole and then 4 of her other best friends.

Jenson stood by the Pastor, looking around anxiously. This was going to be the happiest moment of his life. Okay, one of them. Nothing could really beat welcoming their baby girl in a few months.

Music began to play as Jessica walked through a row of trees and towards the aisle. Her dress was long and flowing, white with a long, lace train. Her hair was down and in waves, and she held a bouquet of fresh daisies. 

Jenson grinned, looking at her. She looked absolutely beautiful. She always did, but for sure, in her wedding dress, she looked even more radiant than ever. She didn't mind that she was 7 months pregnant and her feet were aching and swollen, or that she could barely stand without her back aching. Today was a happy day for her.

Approaching the alter, Jenson took one of her hands, helping her up the steps. They looked eachother in the eyes and then she passed her bouquet to Dasha, before taking Jenson's hands in hers.

The Pastor recited the usual marriage vows and rules, before pronouncing them husband and wife. They kissed on his announcement and she wrapped her arms loosely around Jenson's neck. "I love you." She whispered, smiling through happy-teared eyes.

"I love you too, Jessica." He whispered back, kissing her cheek.

They linked hands as people clapped and walked down the aisle together, heading for the other side of the garden where the reception would be. 

There was rows and rows of tables with food and champagne. A large, 5-tiered cake stood in the middle of the main table. All the guests followed, sitting at guest-tables, or gathering in standing-groups to talk.

Sergio hugged Jenson and Jessica. "I'm so happy for you two. The wedding is beautiful."

"We're so glad you could be here.." Jessica replied.

Sergio nodded. "It's an honour."

Across the garden, Oliver had approached Stoffel and decided that now was a good time to bring up the subject of moving in, possibly.

"Hey."

"Hey, I need to ask you about something."

"Sure."

Oliver explained about his lack of pay and having to sell his house in Somerset, then told him he needed a cheap place and was looking for a room-mate.

"Oi, mate. We should be flat-mates. We can split the rent. It'd be great. I live near McLaren though. It'd be a long drive for you when you need to be at the Caterham base."

"It'd only be an hour drive or so. I don't mind. I'm totally for being flat-mates." Oliver said, relieved that Stoffel suggested it before he even got a chance to bring it up.

"When do you want to move in? I'll have to move some of my stuff out of the guest room."

"Probably before the first race of the season. I need to be out of my house in 2 weeks."

"Okay. Sounds good. Do you need help moving stuff?"

"Nah, it's alright. Sergio already offered. I mean, you can if you want, I just don't want you to do it if it's not needed."

"No, really. I'll help. I'll swing by the day after tomorrow, around 12."

"Sounds good." Oliver replied. "And, thanks.. For letting me move in."

"No, thank you. I've been so bored living on my own. You're doing me the favor." Stoffel laughed.

\----

Scene - 2 weeks before Australian GP.

Oliver had moved in with Stoffel with help from him and Sergio, and had sold his old house to a nice couple from Ireland. He wasn't used to having a flat-mate, but it turned out to be a good thing. He felt safer and was no longer bored.

Lewis and Rosberg had agreed that their friendship was no longer. The two were just "Team-Mates" if even that. They didn't speak to eachother unless they were force and their aim was to make sure they always out-did eachother in the upcoming season.

Jessica and Jenson had been preparing a room in their house as the babies nursery. They painted the walls a light yellow and had the room zoo-themed. The baby was due in 9-ish weeks and Jenson was nervous she would be born while he was racing.

Kimi and Seb were still having little arguments here and there. It was mostly because Kimi didn't trust Seb with Heikki. He was always afraid they would start seeing each other again. He'd even started checking Seb's phone. Heikki had only texted a few times, asking if he was ever going to get his owed pay.

Sergio had come to the conclusion that Esteban and Nico were definetely dating, but he didn't question Esteban. He didn't want to seem like he was intruding on his personal life. He figured that if Esteban wanted to tell, he would.

They were currently on the couch, with blankets. It was past freezing now and it was snowing like crazy in Zurich. Esteban was texting rapidly on his phone, a smile across his face.

Sergio looked at him, holding a book. "What are you grinning about?"

Esteban looked up and towards his friend. "Oh, Nico was telling me something funny that happened to him earlier."

"Ohhhh." Sergio nodded, looking back to the book.

"When are we heading to Australia?" Esteban asked. "I don't wanna' get there days later than everyone else."

"We'll probably go next Friday." Sergio said. "So we have a couple of days to adjust to the time zone."

"Okay. I'll tell Nico. He wants to arrive when we do."

"Oh, okay. Sounds good." Sergio said, adjusting the blanket. "It's cold."

"I know.. Will be nice to get to Australia where it's all hot." Esteban replied.

"Yes. For sure." Sergio nodded.

\----

Scene - Australia / Hotel

It was now the Tuesday of the race week. All the drivers had the day off and tomorrow they would face press conferences, signings and media.

Seb and Kimi were by the pool, talking about their cars, when Nico walked into the pool area with Heikki. They'd become good friends ever since Force India had hired Heikki to be Nico's physio.

"Hi." Heikki said, looking at Seb and Kimi.

Seb looked up. "Hi." He said, flatly. He didn't want to put too much emotion into talking to him. Kimi didn't say anything at all.

Nico sat on a chair and layed back, closing his eyes. The sun felt amazing after being cooped up in his place, in Silverstone, because all it did was rain the past two weeks. He'd heard from Esteban that he and Sergio were getting snow. He hadn't seen him since Friday, when they'd arrived. He wondered what was going on. 

Lewis walked in with his dog, Roscoe. "Guess what boyssss?" He asked, grinning widely.

"What?" Seb asked.

"I got a new tattoo." He said, showing off the number 44 behind his left ear. It was his racing number.

"Oh, that's cool." Kimi said. "I want to get another one soon."

Seb didn't have any tattoos. Kimi made fun of him, because he was a wuss when it came to pain. He was determined to get a tattoo one day, though. Mostly just to rub it in Kimi's face.


	14. Could This Be Out Of Line?

Scene - Australia / Pool

Heikki sat on a chair beside Nico's and tried to ignore the fact that his ex-lover was still angry and only sitting a few feet away from him. He could never quite put his finger on what drove him so crazy about Seb. The lips? The hair? The way he moved in bed? It was all of the above and more. It just made him long for his touch. For his love.

Nico sat up and pulled his shirt off. Heikki glanced over and blinked. It couldn't be. No. No way. 

"Hey.. When's the last time you did a weigh-in?"

Nico looked at his Physio and blinked. "I don't remember, why?" He asked, looking down at himself. "Do I look fat?" He whispered, kinda' panicking in his head a bit. He did eat a lot.. Like, really, a lot. But he'd never been one to gain weight.

"Not fat.. Just.. You've lost a lot of muscle tone. You just need to get back in shape is all.. You're not fat." Heikki said quickly, not wanting to hurt Nico's self-image. It's not like he knew what the German thought about himself. Was Nico aware he was super good-looking? He hoped so. 

Nico blinked again. "Yeah.. You're right. I should train harder. And.. Probably stop eating double lunch." He mumbled, looking over as the pool gate clicked open. Sergio and Esteban walked in, followed by Giedo.

"Sunnnnn." Sergio sang, his arms outstretched wide as if he were going to scoop up the heat and hug it all to himself.

Esteban hurried to sit by Nico. "Hi." He smiled, trying to keep some distance so people didn't speculate.

"Hey. Where've you been?" Nico frowned.

"Sleeping. The flight messed me up.. Needed some time to recover."

"Oh. Hey.. Do me a favor." Nico said.

"Sure."

"Do I look fat?" He whispered.

Esteban blinked, looking at the others to make sure they were distracted and that they wouldn't catch him gazing at Nico's body. He looked him up and down. "No.. You don't look fat." He whispered back.

"Are you sure? Be honest."

"Maybe just a little.. Chubby." 

Nico frowned. Okay, that was 2 people in the span of 5 minutes who'd basically told him he'd gained weight over the Winter. "I need to get fit and fast, or I'll just weigh the car down." He said, sticking his shirt back on, feeling un-confident now.

"Don't worry too much, I'm sure we've all gained a little during Winter. We'll be back to our usual weight in a few weeks." Esteban said, with a shrug.

"Pffff as if you could ever gain an ounce." Nico joked, taking in Esteban's thin frame. He wished he was as thin as the younger driver. He actually felt kind of jealous, to be honest. 

Giedo jumped into the pool with a howl of excitement and Lewis followed him in. Nicole came strutting in through the gate, wearing a strapless, dark green dress. It was long and flowy and she had a large gold, metallic belt around her waist to match her gold hoop earrings.

"Babe.. Come put this on my back." She said, holding up a bottle of sunscreen. She undid her belt and pulled the dress off. She had on a simple black two-piece bikini. 

Without hesitation, Lewis climbed out of the pool, dripping water on the hot cement as he walked towards her. He began to lather her back in the sunscreen. He silently thanked God that Rosberg wasn't around to take in the sight of his near-naked girlfriend. It was bad enough he'd recently found out that "Once upon a time" - Rosberg had slept with her. It made him angry.

"Thanks, babe." She kissed him on the lips and then layed a towel across one of the long, white pool-chairs and then lay down on her stomach with a book.

"Of course, my love." He replied, before jumping back in the pool with a large splash. 

\----  
Scene - Hotel Courtyard 

Behind the hotel that all the drivers were staying in, there was a large Courtyard with a garden and tennis courts. A fountain stood in the middle of the garden, water cascading down the sides and glittering in the sunlight.

A young woman, with dark brown, wavy hair and green eyes, sat on a bench near the fountain, taking photographs.

"Carly?"

She turned her head, looking at Oliver. "Oh.. Hi." She smiled, hoping she wasn't blushing too much.

"Hey. Nice to see you again." He said. "Are you a photographer too?"

She stood. "Sometimes. I'm mostly just a reporter.. But my hobby is photography. I like to capture everyday things.. But from angles that most people don't see."

"That's cool.." He said, then wanted to kick himself. What a bland reply, he thought to himself. He needed to just say something better. More flirty. "It's uh, hot out here.. Do you wanna' go inside and get a drink?"

"Sounds good." She said, grabbing her purse off the bench. "So, this will be your first Formula 1 race, right?" She asked as they walked towards the hotel entrance.

"Indeed. I'm actually super nervous." He admitted. "The car is so different from GP2. The steering and braking.. Everything, really." He told her, holding the door open for her.

"I can only imagine-.. Thanks." She said, heading inside and finding them a table in the corner, away from the windows. All the windows had sun blaring through them and it was brutal heat. She needed a break from that.

Oliver sat in the chair across from her. "So, how long have you been working in Media?" He asked.

"Since I was 17." She told him. "I started with a blog and I got picked up to work for a TV station as a live-reporter and interviewer. And that's what I've been doing ever since. I'm 22 now."

"Wow.. I really admire women who work in sports." He said, hoping that didn't come off as cheesy.

"Thanks.. So do I. You know what? One of my dreams is work on Sauber. Monisha Kaltenborn has always been my inspiration."

"You should tell her. I'm sure she could set something up for you." He said. "She loves helping people.. And giving people opportunities."

"I don't know.. I'd be so nervous. I guess I could give it a try." She said as the waiter came over. They both ordered iced teas and then got back to their conversation. "So, what made you want to start racing?"

"Oh.. man." He tried to think. He'd been so little he could barely remember. "I think I was like 5 or something. And F1 was on the TV and the words that came out of my mouth were like 'I want to drive fast' or something." He laughed. "And so I began karting and now, boom, I'm here." He smiled.

She laughed with him. "That's so adorable."

He blushed. He was really starting to think things were actually going to work out with her and he was thrilled. They spent the next hour sipping at their tea and chatting about random things. The only reason that the wonderful event ended was because she got a call from her boss to go write an article. 

"I'm real sorry to have to cut this short. I'll give you my number, is that okay?" She asked.

"Sounds good." He smiled. 

She dug in her purse and found a little notebook and a sharpie. She quickly jotted down her cell. "I also put my blog.. If you want to see my work." She smiled.

"Yeah, I will. Thanks.. See you around, Carly." He said, standing up to hug her. 

Once she left, he sat there, looking at the piece of note paper. He smiled to himself, feeling good about the whole day already. He could feel that his single days were over.

\----  
Scene - Pool

After an hour and a half of laying under the extreme rays of the sun, Heikki decided to head back to the hotel and unpack. Because, face it, who unpacked the day they arrived? No one. Everyone usually dug around in their bags for the first few days, only grabbing things they needed. But on Tuesdays everyone usually unpacked.

He put his shirt back on and stood up, heading for the gate. Kimi had already gone back to the hotel earlier, so Seb had been relaxing alone. He opened an eye when he heard the click of the gate. Something inside him told him to follow Heikki, to apologize.

He bit his lower lip and tried hard to fight the feeling. He shouldn't. He didn't need to go after him. "Fuck it." He muttered to himself, standing up and hurrying through the gate, catching up with Heikki. "Wait." He breathed.

Heikki turned his head, looking at him. "Hey."

"I'm sorry." Seb breathed, standing infront of Heikki and grabbing him by the arms. "I'm sorry for everything I said. I didn't mean it.. You're my friend.. Forgive me." He rambled, quickly.

Heikki threw his arms around Seb, hugging him tightly. "Of course I forgive you. Always, Seb. Always." He breathed, holding on to him. "You're my best friend."

"I know. I just feel so guilty. I yelled at you. I was a dick. I-.... I know you need your money, too. I'll write you a check. Right now. Come on." He took Heikki's hand and headed for the hotel.

\----  
Scene - Sebastian Vettel / Heikki Houvinen

Seb took Heikki to his room. He once again was unable to share a room with Kimi. You know, due to team rules and regulations. It didn't mean they weren't going to be sneaking into eachothers rooms at night for cuddles.. And sex.

Seb dug through a bag and found his checkbook. He quickly wrote a check out to Heikki and ripped it out, handing it to him. "Here. I'm really sorry."

"Thank you. And.. Look, Seb. It's fine, really. Lets just forget about the whole thing."

"Okay." Seb breathed.

They were standing in front of each other. Only a few inches apart. Each of them breathing heavily from hurrying to the hotel in the heat. Their bodies sweaty and nearly touching. Seb had no idea what came over him, but in that moment, Kimi was the absolute last thing on his mind. He grabbed Heikki by the waist and pressed their lips together. 

Heikki was shocked, but hey, if Seb wanted it, why reject him? He kissed back, harder and more passionate than the last time they'd made out. Seb pushed him back towards a table. Heikki fell into a sitting position on the table, using a free hand to shove pens and random crap off the table. It all clattered into a heap on the floor. His other hand was running up under Seb's white shirt. 

Panting, Seb pushed himself closer to Heikki, continuing to kiss him. He pulled their shirts off and they were grabbing at each other, groping and squeezing and even biting softly at each others soft flesh. It was so wrong and Seb didn't care. He didn't care at all. But why? Just a few hours ago he wouldn't've even thought about doing this.

He closed his eyes as they continued to make out. He knew why and he had to stop thinking about it, or he was sure he'd break down in tears. He didn't want to do that. He wanted to enjoy this. Every single second of it.


	15. Everything's New For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long time between updates. Been working! Hopefully another update after the German GP weekend!

Scene - Sebastian Vettel / Heikki Huovinen

Seb and Heikki were laying side-by-side on Seb's bed in the hotel room. The German was looking at the ceiling, wondering if he'd really just betrayed Kimi again. He knew he did. He had sex with Heikki. Again. But, God, it's not like things were working out well with Kimi. Seb loved him and all, but there were so many problems.

He snuggled closer to Heikki, linking their fingers together. "You know what?" He murmured.

"What?" Heikki asked, his voice soft and relaxed. Seb loved that about Heikki. Always so relaxed.

"I'm just going to break it off with Kimi. It's not working, so.. I'm done." Seb told him, closing his eyes.

"Seb.. You love Kimi. You can't just throw that away."

"Come on.. We just had sex."

"I know-.. But-.."

"No." Seb mumbled. "I've made my decision."

"If you're sure." Heikki replied.

\----

Scene - Esteban Gutierrez / Nico Hulkenberg

The pair were relaxing in Nico's room, when Nico brought up the subject of them dating. 

"Do you think we should tell people?" He asked.

"Eventually.." Esteban murmured. "I don't want to make a huge deal out of it. I want people to react normal. I want people to find out from how we act around each other. It shouldn't be this huge announcement."

"No, I agree." Nico said with a nod. "We'll just have to be more.. Couple-ish in public." He added, laughing.

"Yeah." Esteban looked out the window. "I hope we have a good weekend."

"Ah.. I'm sure it'll be interesting. Turbos.." Nico murmured, following his gaze towards the window. "Either way, points or no points, I'm going to enjoy this season. No matter what."

"Agreed." Esteban said, then looked at him. "Lets go do something with Checo and Giedo."

"Alright. We could go get dinner."

Esteban nodded and texted them. He got replies from both of them with agreements to meet outside of the hotel and take a taxi to a nice restaurant.

The 4 drivers met outside of the hotel and agreed on a place to go for food, when Oliver exited the hotel. "Hey."

"Hey, Ollie." Sergio replied. "Where are you off to?"

"I'm meeting someone at a cafe."

Sergio smirked lightly. "It's that girl, isn't it?"

Oliver nodded, feeling excited. "I think she might really like me."

"Sounds like it." Sergio replied. "Have fun."

Oliver nodded and headed down the block to the cafe. It was on the corner from the hotel. He walked inside and saw Carly sitting at a table in the corner. She looked up and waved. 

"Hi." Oliver said, sitting on the chair across from her. "Am I late?"

"No." She smiled. "You're fine. Don't worry."

"Okay, good." He smiled back. "So.. What should we talk about?"

"Well, actually, the reason I brought you here was because I need to tell you something." Carly said, placing her arms on the table.

"What is it?" He frowned. "Is it bad?"

"No-.." She changed her mind. "Nevermind, it's nothing. It's kind of crowded in here. Do you want to go back to the hotel?"

"Sure.." He said, standing up. "You don't wanna' tell me?" He smirked.

"It's not important." She gave a slight smile. And followed him outside where it had begun to rain. It was still hot though. A tropical kind of feel lingered in the air. 

"Come on." He grinned, taking her hand and beginning to run towards the hotel as they began to get soaked from the rain. Carly squealed. "Wait."

He slowed down and watched as she took off her black high-heels and held them in her other hand, before they started to run again. She grinned widely, laughing as they swerved through crowds of people and watched out for light poles.

When they got to the front entrance of the hotel, the rain was starting to come down harder. Oliver looked at Carly, her hair sticking to her cheeks and her face covered in speckles of water. She grinned again and he pulled her in, placing their lips together. She wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing back, before moving away to look at him with her green eyes.

"That was.. Perfect." She whispered, looking up at the stars, rain continuing to pelt on her face.

"You're perfect." He replied, holding her hands. "I like you." He told her, his stomach swirling with butterflies like he'd never felt before.

She blushed deeply. "I like you, too."

Oliver grinned and then headed into the hotel with her. He took her up to his room. "Are you staying at this hotel?" He asked.

"No."

He found her a long t-shirt from one of his bags. "You can change into this so you're not in wet clothes." He told her, then pointed to the bathroom. She nodded, smiled and headed into the tiny room connected to the hotel room.

While she was in there, he changed into pajamas and then tried to clean the room up a bit so she didn't think he was a slob. He had clothes and food all over the place. The life of an F1 driver, where everything was usually done in a rush.

When she came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but her underwear and his long shirt, he noticed a whole different beauty about her. She'd washed her makeup off since it was smeared from the rain. Her skin was absolutely flawless, mixed with her towel dried waves that cascaded down her shoulders and halfway past her breasts. 

He smiled at her. "Warm?"

She nodded and headed over to the bed and sat beside him. He put an arm around her, watching as she layed her head against his shoulder. "Tired." She yawned.

"When do you need to be.. You know.. At the circuit to do reporting tomorrow?" He asked.

"8 AM." She responded. So, I'll be waking up at 6:30. What time are you getting up?"

"Same. I'll wake you up and I can drive you back to your hotel so you can get ready."

"Okay." She slipped her legs under the covers. "Oliver.."

"Yeah." He asked, turning onto his side.

"Thanks for an amazing night."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Same."

\----

At 6:30 Oliver woke up and turned over, looking at Carly, who was curled up under the blankets, her hair falling over her eyes. She looked peaceful and beautiful. He smiled and reached out, tapping her shoulder gently. "Time to get up."

She opened her eyes and smiled, blushing slightly. "Morning."

"Morning." He said, smiling back. "I'll get my things in the car while you get ready." He said, getting up and packing everything he'd need to bring to the circuit. He brushed his teeth and changed into team clothes before hurrying down to his car.

Carly did the same, only keeping his shirt on and throwing on her nearly dry jeans from last nights storm. After brushing her teeth and hair and throwing on a bit of lipgloss and mascara, she grabbed her purse and met him at his car.

They drove to the circuit and people stared as they got out together. She had her camera around her neck as they walked into the Caterham garage. It was an hour until Free Practice 1 and the drivers had time to talk to engineers and have some light food.

Carly hung around, taking photos of the green cars. She didn't have to do reporting for another hour as well. 

"I'll be right back." Oliver said, heading to the Sauber garages.

"Hey." Sergio said, looking at him with wide eyes. "Did you sleep with her?"

"What? No." Oliver blushed. "It was raining so we just ran to the hotel and she stayed with me.. We didn't do anything. Just..Slept.. Literally, just sleeping."

Sergio laughed. "Okay. Why's she wearing one of your shirts?"

"Hers was soaked from the rain.. She needed something to sleep in. It was freezing."

"Such a gentleman." Sergio replied, smirking, then looking back at a book he had open on the work bench.

"Pff.. What are you reading?" He asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Game Of Thrones." Sergio replied.

"Can I borrow it when you're done?"

"Sure." 

"Oliver! Can you come here please?" A man in green called from down the pit-lane. He was waving his hands. 

"Gotta' run." He slapped Sergio on the arm lightly and ran off towards the man.

Monisha walked in and smiled. "Morning, Dear." She said to Sergio, heading for her seat in front of the timing screens and info graphs. 

"Morning." He replied. "Where's Esteban?"

"Probably still sleeping." She said, smirking. "Still always manages to be on time though." 

Perez nodded and then sat beside her. "I'm nervous."

"Why?"

"Because... New cars, new rules.. I just wanna' do good."

"You'll be fine, dear." She told him, putting an arm around his shoulders.

He hoped it was true. He wanted everything to go as it played out in his thoughts. He'd win the race, the very first race and people would be proud. It was what he dreamed of.


	16. The World's Gonna' Know Your Name

Scene - Race / Australia

"Okay, box this lap for primes, Lewis." 

Lewis groaned as his engineer ordered him to bring the Mercedes into the pits. He could've gone at least another 5 laps before the tyres needed to be changed. But who was he to not trust the engineers choice? They knew what they needed to do.

Also heading into the pits was the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. Lewis waited for the paddle to be flipped and then drove down the pit-lane exit, moving back onto the circuit and gaining speed. He hoped he was still leading. It was lap 37. He could do it. He would win the first race of the season, he could just feel it.

"What's the gap?" He asked over the radio.

"You're about a second behind Perez."

"Wait, he's leading?"

"Yes, Lewis."

Lewis smiled behind his helmet, although he wasn't going to tell the team, he didn't mind. He found it hard to fight for first when it came to friends. All the trophies and wins in the world couldn't take the place of friends. "Copy that." He finally replied.

Sergio was trying his hardest to stay calm. He was leading a race and it was a brilliant feeling. First race of the year and it could be his first win of his career. He could imagine how thrilling it would be. "Will the tyres take us all the way?" He asked over the radio. He'd pitted 2 laps before Lewis had.

"Yeah, we're gonna' finish on these tyres, Checo."

"Okay, guys." The dark-haired driver replied, barely able to contain the excitement in his voice. 

About 10 seconds behind Sergio and Lewis was the McLaren pair, who were racing wheel-to-wheel. Jenson insisted to the team to order Kevin to move so he could overtake. The team told them they were racing eachother and to make it fair. No one was going to give anyone a position easily.

Jenson edged the nose of his car to the right, while Kevin swerved and almost hit tyres with his team-mate. He quickly braked and let Jenson pass. He knew it was hopeless to keep trying when it was possible he could send both their cars off of the circuit and end the race for both him and Jenson. Jenson checked his mirrors and was relieved to see Kevin had backed off. 

Esteban was trudging back to the Sauber garage after his car had suffered a gearbox failure on the previous lap. He tried to keep his head down, afraid of how the fans might be looking at him. He wondered how many people he had let down. He felt awful, he'd never been expecting the first race to end like this. He figured he'd at least finish top 15. He walked into the garage and went into the back to change. When he came back he was waved over to the screens where Monisha was sitting with her headset on, watching Sergio speed around the circuit, still in the lead by 02.098 seconds. He sat beside her on a vacant stool and watched with her. He felt so nervous for his team-mate, it almost beat the feeling of disappointment in himself.

The top 5 was now Sergio, Lewis, Jenson, Kevin and Nico Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg was fighting to keep 5th position with Grosjean coming up right beside him and trying to overtake him. He groaned and tried to keep his pace, but felt something was going wrong with the car. "Guys, I think there's an engine problem, can you look at that, please?" Nico said frantically over the radio.

"Copy that, Nico." His engineer replied.

5 laps left and Sergio continued to lead, now with an impressive 5 seconds over Lewis Hamilton. With every lap that nothing went wrong and he kept his lead, Sergio felt his nerves more and more. It was unbearably hot in the car and he was sweating and feeling slightly dizzy. He had to keep telling himself 'Only a few more laps'

The last lap was a complete blur for him. His tyres rolled over the chequered line on the circuit and the team screamed over the radio. "That's P1 Checo! You won! You won!"

He threw a fist in the air, screaming with joy, before going on to the radio. "Thank you guys! I love you all! You're amazing and so is the car! Unbelievable! Thank you!" He shouted as he took the car around for his victory lap before heading to parc ferme. He hopped out of the Sauber and ran to the fence to greet the team with hugs and shouts of happiness. 

Upon turning around, he was picked up briefly by Lewis who shouted at him. "Yeah, Mate! You did it!"

Sergio grinned widely behind his helmet. "I'm so happy." He breathed, still trying to calm his nerves. He felt his whole body shaking like never before. Jenson ran over, hugging him tightly. "I knew you could do it. I am so proud of you." He whispered, finding himself overjoyed with emotion to see his friend finally getting a win.

During the podium, it was a completely different feeling from his 2nd and 3rd place podium finishes. This was so much different and so much more emotional. He couldn't hold back tears during his National Anthem and he was happy to be up there with Lewis and Jenson. It was the best podium ceremony he'd ever been in. During his speech, he thanked the team and his friends and family and then followed the other two back downstairs to go find Monisha and Esteban who'd been watching from the crowd.

He headed to the garage and found Monisha. "Hey." He grinned. 

She hurried over and hugged him. "You! You amazing boy! I am so proud of you! Look at you, you're a winner!" She exclaimed, stepping back to look at him. "How does it feel?" She asked.

"Amazing." He breathed. "So amazing. I still can't believe it." 

Esteban walked over, looking a little less happy than the others. He could swear he looked jealous. But that was impossible.. Esteban couldn't be jealous, he didn't have it in him to be jealous of his own best friend. 

"Congatulations." He finally said. "You did great."

"Thank you." Sergio grinned widely, then frowned a little. "I'm sorry about your car."

"It happens. I'm not too worried." He said, trying to sound more optimistic than he was actually feeling. 

\----  
Scene - Kevin Magnussen / Jenson Button

Jenson had headed back to the McLaren garages and found Kevin sitting in the back room by himself.

"Hey, Kevy." Jenson greeted. 

"Oh, hey." Kevin said, looking up from his phone.

"You okay?"

"Mhm.. Just disappointed."

"Why? You got 4th. That's great for your first race."

"You got the podium."

"So? You still did good." Jenson said, opening a bottle of water. 

Kevin shrugged. "I guess we'll see what happens in Malaysia."

\----  
Scene - Oliver Turvey / Carly

Okay, so he hadn't finished in the top 10, but 14th wasn't bad. It was a good result considering it was the first race, plus Caterham was excited about the result. They hoped they could get some points during this season.

He was standing around in the garages, watching as people cleaned up their things and headed to get flights home for a bit. Carly walked in, looking tired and a bit sun-burned. "Hi." She smiled. "Busy?"

"Nope." Oliver smiled back, then giggled. "I think you got burned." He told her, pressing a finger to her cheek and watching as it stayed white as he moved it away and then faded back to red to match the rest of her face.

"Is it bad?"

"It's.. Not the worst." He smirked, then kissed her forehead.

She smiled lightly and then fiddled with her necklace. It was a simple thin silver chain with a tiny charm of a heart. "Oliver.. I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what's up?" He asked.

"Look.. There's something I should've told you." She breathed. "I fell for you really quickly. I mean, you're charming.. Really sweet and you have a great sense of humour. I don't want you to think I did this on purpose."

"Did what on purpose?"

"I kind of.." She bit her lip. "Oliver.. I have a boyfriend."

Oliver looked at her, shocked. He didn't even know how to feel. Sad? Angry? He just blinked and tried not to show if he looked hurt by her words. "Oh" He murmured after a long silence.

"I'm so sorry."

"No." He shook his head. "Don't apologize. Please.. I don't want you to feel bad. You're lovely.. You're a good person. It's just an unlucky situation." He told her. "I'm okay, really.. I just. I hope we can still be friends.. But I have to go." He added, before quickly walking past her and heading for the hotel. 

He sniffed as he entered the hotel and wandered up the stairs, because to his luck the elevator was broken. When he reached his room, he fumbled in his pockets for the room key and then remembered he'd left it in the room because Marcus had said he had the other key. But where was he now?

He pulled out his phone as he sat on the carpet in front of the room's door. He texted his team-mate with 'Locked out, need the key." And then waited for a reply. He couldn't stop thinking about Carly. He'd really felt something for her and now the thought of not being able to be with her made him feel like crap. He rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. There was no sign of cool air in the sweltering hot hallway and he wished Marcus would hurry up and text back. After another 5 minutes he heard footsteps and saw Sergio heading towards his own room. 

"Hey." Oliver murmured, standing up. "Congrats on your win, Mate. You drove incredibly."

"Thank you." Sergio replied with a smile. He then looked his friend over. "You okay?"

".. I'm locked out. Marcus has the key and he won't text me back."

"Chill with me until he does.. Come on." Sergio replied, heading into his own room.

Oliver followed him and into the air conditioned room where he fell onto the couch and closed his eyes, tired and achy. He flinched as a bottle of water was dropped beside him. "Drink that."

"Jesus." Oliver smirked, opening his eyes. "You trying to scare me."

"Maybe." Sergio laughed, heading into the bathroom and packing things. "When are you leaving?" He called.

"My flight is at 7." 

"So is mine and Esteban's. You can ride with us to the airport." He said.

"Thanks." Oliver said, twisting the cap off of the bottle. "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah." Sergio nodded, moving around as he packed up clothes and other belongings. 

"You know that pretty girl? Carly?"

"Yeah."

"She just told me that she has a boyfriend."

Sergio stopped packing and looked at him. "Oh man.. I'm sorry."

"I'm just confused."

"Yeah.."

Oliver sat up and sighed. "It sucks.. But, I mean.. Oh well, I guess."

Sergio frowned. "Well.. Maybe not. It depends on if her relationship is even going well. Maybe she was planning on breaking up with him but she met you before she even had a chance." He suggested with a shrug.

"While that is very creative and makes me feel better, I find it slightly far-fetched. But thank you." Oliver smirked a bit and threw a scarf that was on the floor. "Why did you pack scarfs?"

Sergio caught it and stuffed it in his suitcase. "The nights are cold.. I figured if I go out somewhere, it'd be smart to have a scarf.."

"Okay, fine. Good point."

The two chatted for awhile until Marcus texted that he'd gotten back and was now asking where he was. Oliver headed into the hall and found his Swedish team-mate waiting in the doorway.

"Hii." Marcus grinned. "Great race, huh?"

"Dandy."


	17. You Make It Hard To Be Faithful

Scene - Marcus Ericsson / Oliver Turvey

"Dandy? What's up with you?" The Swedish driver asked and they walked into their hotel room.

"Meh.. Girl problems." Oliver replied, going for the shorter story. He didn't feel much like explaining it again. It wasn't going to make it hurt any less.

"We should get to the airport around 6." Marcus said, hoping to change the subject.

"Sergio said I could head with him and Esteban.. is that okay?" 

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you guys there."

"Okay." Oliver replied, packing his things. 

\----

Scene - Airport

Kimi and Seb were waiting for their different flights, but that didn't keep them apart. Kimi walked over and sat beside the German. "We need to talk."

Seb's eyes widened. "About what?" He asked, sounding fairly guilty.

"Word got around that you and Heikki were together the other night."

"What?"

"Yes. I heard."

Seb blinked slowly and then got up. "We're not talking about this in public."

"So you were with him.."

"I didn't say that!" Seb snapped.

"You didn't have to." Kimi replied, looking hurt. "You promised me.. You promised me that you would stay away from him. That you loved me.."

Seb bit his lower lip, feeling awful. "Kimi, look.. It's not like that."

"I don't care. You lied to me.... I trusted you."

"I'm sorry." He breathed.

"You're sorry?!" Kimi exclaimed, slapping Seb across the faced.

Seb gasped and flinched back, stumbling.

Other drivers that were there, quickly turned their heads and stared.

Kimi's flight to Finland was now boarding and he made that clear when he stormed off to the terminal and got on the flight.

Seb sunk down onto a chair and stared at the floor. He knew they were all staring. Okay, maybe not every single person in the airport, but the drivers.. How could they not? He closed his eyes, trying to wish it all away. 

"Are you okay?" A voice whispered. Jenson.

"No." Seb murmured, burying his face in his hands. "Just get me out of here."

Jenson stood, taking Seb with him and leading him through crowds of people and into the mens bathroom. Thankfully it was empty, because Seb decided it was the perfect time to bawl his eyes out. 

"What's going on?" Jenson asked, steadying him against the counters.

"Kimi slapped me."

"Yeah, I saw that.. But why? What happened? Calm down."

"Calm down? I cheated on him! It's MY fault I got slapped. I'm a big cheating ass!"

"Seb.. Stop. Listen.. We all do things that are.. Well.. wrong. But it's not the end of the world. It's in the past now. Whether you fix things with Kimi or not."

Sebastian rubbed at his eyes, exhausted. "Mhm.."

"Kimi doesn't own you. You're better off without him, trust me.."

Seb looked at the Briton and blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Come on.. I've seen how he treats you."

"He treats me fine."

"No, he doesn't. He bosses you around and argues.. I've seen it. Just take a break from him, will you?"

Seb nodded, slightly embarrassed at the fact people were analyzing his relationship with Kimi. But Jenson was right.. He wasn't treated well. He just wasn't. 

"You okay now?"

"Yeah.. Thanks. I'm sorry to just.." Seb shrugged. "Break down."

"It's all good, Mate." Jenson said, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on, our flights are soon."

When Jenson boarded his flight, he was sat beside Oliver and Stoffel. They were heading to different cities, but almost anyone needing to head to Britain took this flight straight to Heathrow airport. Most drivers were heading to wherever home was for a few days, before they'd all fly to Malaysia. Oliver and Stoffel were heading to Oxfordshire and Jenson was heading to Surrey, where he lived, close to the McLaren base.

Little did Oliver know that Carly (And her boyfriend) were on the same flight and only a few rows behind them. They were arguing. Her boyfriend wanted her to quit her job and she was trying to explain that it was her dream and she couldn't give it up.

Oliver could hear the arguing, but wasn't aware it was her. He rolled his eyes at the boyfriends obsessiveness of her. "What a clinger." Jenson murmured, having overhead the couple.

"Yeah." Oliver replied, looking out the window.

"You're such a selfish bitch, Carly." The boyfriend muttered loudly.

Oliver sat up straight and turned back to look, before quickly whipping around and panicking. "Oh God."

"What?" Jenson asked.

"It's Carly."

"Who?"

"Carly. We.. uh.. we went on a date kind of.. but she said we couldn't like.. you know, get together, because she has a boyfriend. It's her back there.." He whispered.

"Well, he's a dick of a boyfriend." Jenson replied. "She should break up with him."

Oliver just sighed and looked back out the window. He wasn't going to interfere. It sounded like the boyfriend had calmed down. The plane took off a few minutes later and it seemed as soon as they'd leveled out, the boyfriend started back up again. 

It went on for pretty much half of the duration of the flight. It was a shocker that a flight attendant didn't have to shut him up or something. As soon as they landed, she bolted off the plane in tears and the boyfriend didn't follow her, but instead headed a different way. 

"Go after her, Mate." Jenson said. "You know you should"

"It's none of my business."

"Do you love her?"

"Love her? I barely know her. We had one date."

"Yep and she spent the night with you.. in your clothes."

"Wha-.. How do you know about that?"

"Pff.. I know everything."

Oliver rolled his eyes and then sighed. "You're right.. I'll go after her and just get a taxi back to the flat later. Stoffel, can you take my stuff?"

"Yep. See you at home later." He said, taking his luggage for him.

"Good luck.. There's Jess. Bye boys." Jenson waved as Jessica pulled up at the front of the airport. She waved to them as Jenson got in the car.

Stoffel got in a taxi and Oliver went to find out where Carly went. It didn't take long, she was in the parking lot, trying to get one of her friends to come pick her up.

"Carly?"

She looked up and blinked. "Hey.. What are you doing here?"

"I live in Oxfordshire. We were uhm.. on the same flight."

"Oh-.. Oh God.. did you hear all of that?" She asked, turning red.

"Ehm.. Kinda'.."

She sniffed. "He broke up with me.."

"He's a jerk." Oliver blurted out.

She looked at him, then looked back to her shoes and started crying. "I am selfish."

"What? No. You're not.. You do what you love and that's the best thing you could ever wish for. Doesn't being able to live your dream make you happy?"

"Yeah, but.. What's the point if I can't share it with someone special? That's who he was.. my someone special."

"But from what I heard.. He didn't support your dream. That's not very special." Oliver murmured, sitting down beside her. 

She leaned against his arm, shivering against the harsh winds that were blowing by every few seconds.

"Do you live nearby? We can share a taxi."

".. I live with him."

Oliver frowned. "Err.. How about you come stay with me for a bit? I've got a flat-mate, but he won't mind."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"You wouldn't be. I promise. Do you have your luggage?" He asked, standing and pulling her up with him. She nodded in response and picked up her purse, then grabbed the handle of her rolling suitcase.

When they arrived at Stoffel's flat in Oxfordshire, and went inside, Stoffel was on the couch, watching TV and eating what looked like an attempt at a grilled cheese.

"Did you burn something?"

Stoffel looked over. "Nah.. Just.. a bit crispy." He said, staring at the toast.

"Right. Uhm.. This is Carly." Oliver said, gesturing to her.

"Hi." Stoffel replied. 

"Mind if she stays a bit? She's going through some things and can't be at her place right now."

"Don't mind at all." 

"Thank you.. I really appreciate it." Carly said, her cheeks red. She always blushed when she felt shy.

Oliver took her to his room. "You can stay in here with me.. I don't supose you mind sharing a bed like we did in the hotel."

"I don't mind." She said, setting her things down. "Look, I don't plan on running back to him.. I really don't. He's hurt me too many times and I've had enough.. so.. I think I want to give us a try."

"Us?" Oliver smiled. "Really?"

"Well.. I told you I liked you.. It was just.. my boyfriend holding me back." She murmured. 

Oliver nodded. "Lets give us a try then." He said, wrapping his arms around her. "And I promise, I support your dreams."


	18. She's Beautiful, So Beatiful

Scene - Malaysia

It was time for the second race weekend of the year and things were already off to an interesting start. Rumours were flying left and right about Kimi and Seb's little airport "Fiasco" and now there was talk of Oliver dating a reporter. Of course, the drivers tried not to get into any of the "wild rumours" and would just shrug them off.

It was Friday and the first practice session of the day. It was nearly 130 degrees on track and around 100 in air temperatures. Drivers were trying to keep cool and stay hydrated. Some found this a hard task.

Sergio was waiting for the session to start which wouldn't be for another 30 minutes, so he was in the back room of his garage where the air conditioning was, watching TV. Jenson came in and nodded. "Ay, Mate."

"Hi." Sergio looked at him. "Want to watch sit?"

"Sure." Jenson sat beside him. "So how was your time off between the races?"

"Good. Got some reading done. Went to Mexico for a few days. You?"

"Got the nursery done." Jenson smiled. "It's cute. Jes' is so excited and she keeps buying all these baby clothes and I'm just amazed at how tiny they are."

Sergio smiled. "Crazy tiny."

Jenson's phone buzzed and he looked at it. "Oh, she's just texted me-.." He started, pausing to read the text. He unexpectedly jumped up. "Shit."

"What?" Sergio looked up at him.

"She just went into Labor! Like.. right now. I have to go."

"Think you can make it in time?" 

"I don't know. I hope so.. I-.. The race.. Do me a favor and tell the team what's going on. I will see you in Bahrain." He gave his friend a panicked hug.

"Good luck." Sergio squeaked as Jenson near-crushed his shoulders.

Jenson ran off, grabbed his things from the hotel and took a cab straight to the airport and boarded the soonest flight back to Surrey. Lucky for him that flight was in only 25 minutes and there were seats left. He texted Jessica back before boarding. "Getting on a plane now. I'll be there soon. Tell the baby to wait for me. Love you x"

Sergio had walked down the sweltering pit-lane to the McLaren garages where the team was looking irritated at the Jenson-less car. 

"He had to go. He asked me to come tell you."

Jenson's engineer looked at the Sauber driver, confusion spread all over his reddened face. "What do you mean he 'Had to go'....?"

"His wife.. Jes', she just texted him. She went into labor."

The engineer softened and gave a smile. "Well, then it can slide. We'll get Stoffel in the car and have him race then. Stoff!" He shouted.

The Belgian driver, who'd been chatting with Magnussen, walked over. "Yeah?"

"Jenson's wife is having the baby. He's flying home. You think you're up to your first real F1 race?"

Stoffel fist-pumped the air. "Hell yes! Thank you!"

Sergio congratulated him and then headed back to his own garage where Monisha was there to greet him with a hug. "Sorry I'm a bit late. Was in a meeting."

"Don't worry about it." He told her, before taking a seat and letting out a heavy breath. 

"You okay?" She asked, opening a folder and scanning some papers.

"It's hot." He replied. "Feels like an oven"

"Mm.. Yes." She said, looking up to scan the weather screen. 

Sergio began preparing for the session and then got in the car, heading out onto track with a bunch of other cars. 

Oliver was on a flying lap in the Caterham when he saw a Sauber and a Lotus coming up behind him. They were both trying to get past and he was finding it difficult to stay out of the way. 

Grosjean, who was in the Lotus, barely tapped Oliver's car and sent him spinning, which in turn hit the Sauber and caused it to spin as well. All 3 cars ended up sliding across the gravel and into the barriers.

Grosjean climbed out of his car and groaned as he saw the other two cars. Sergio climbed out of his as well. Oliver, however was being assisted by medics. They lifted him out of the car and got him into the medical car, which drove him to the medical center.

Grosjean automatically felt guilty, having been the one who tagged the green car. Sergio was trudging back to the Sauber garages. It was a billion times hotter in his racing overalls than it was in regular clothes. All he could think about was finding some shade. When he entered the garage, he leaned against a wall. 

"Hey.." Monisha said, hurrying over to him. "Are you hurt? Do you need a medic?"

Sergio blinked at her. "No.. I'm fine." He murmured, finding a chair and sitting.

"Okay, and the others?" She asked, handing him water.

"Ehm.. Romain is fine. Medics were taking Oliver.."

She frowned. "I hope he's okay." She said as she headed back over to her seat infront of the timing screens. "Probably won't have the car ready until the next session, so you can relax until then."

Meanwhile, Carly had gotten into the medical center and had found Oliver who was being checked over by a doctor. He had a small cut above his right eyebrow and his left hand was wrapped up, but when he saw her, he grinned.

"You're okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Was just a little dazed at first. Sprained my hand. But I'm okay." 

She moved over to him and kissed him on the lips. "Good."

\----  
Scene - Night - Same day.

Sergio was curled up in bed in his hotel room, reading a book. He quickly glanced at the clock. It was almost Midnight. He knew he should be sleeping soon. Qualifying was tomorrow afternoon and he was keen to start in the first two rows. His phone began to ring and he blinked, feeling more awake now.

He set down the book and picked up his phone. It was Jenson. He quickly hit the 'Answer' button and stuck the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey.." Jenson said, sounding winded. "Wow."

"Wow, what?" 

"She's beautiful.. 7 pounds, 5 ounces. Just born about 15 minutes ago."

"Wow.. Congratulations! I'm so happy for you both. How's Jess?"

"She's good. Tired, but good. She did amazing.. She's so happy."

"What'd you name her?" Sergio asked.

"Evelynn Rose"

"That's a beautiful name. I really am so happy for you."  
"Thanks, Checo.. Sorry. I know it's late over there. I was just hearing on the news there was a huge crash today. Everyone OK?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Stoffel did good today and he's so excited to race."

"Good. I'll be back after this race, okay? Just gonna' be here a few days to make sure Jess and Evelynn get home safe and that everything is going well."

"Yeah.. Take your time.. The racing can wait." Sergio replied. "Family comes first." He added.

"Yeah.. Family first. Okay, go to bed. Will text you after the race. Good luck."

"Thanks.." Sergio paused. "Hey, Jenson?"

"Yeah?"

"Send me a photo.. I'll show the others, okay?"

"Sure thing. Night, Mate."

"Night." Sergio said, hanging up.

He layed down and clicked off the lights and only 10 minutes later he received a text with a photo attached. He opened it and smiled at the image of Jenson holding his newborn baby girl. He finally had a complete family.   
\----

Scene - Malaysian GP.

It was Fernando Alonso starting from pole position for this race and he intended on winning. Starting next to him was Nico Rosberg. In row 2 was Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg. Row 3 consisted of Sergio Perez and Stoffel Vandoorne.

The other rows all lined up accordingly as the race was about to start. As soon as the lights went out, the cars sped into action, everyone trying to jump ahead of someone else.

Esteban, who'd started from 10th, made a quick overtake on Bottas who'd started in 9th. He then headed for Carlos who was in 8th and couldn't help but feel excited when he passed him as well. 

Alonso was holding back Rosberg and Hamilton, but he didn't know how long he could do that. He'd have to change tyres eventually. But so would they.

Oliver had caught up to 12 from where he'd started in 17th and was feeling good about the progress. Driving with a sprained hand wasn't the best idea and it did hurt, but the doctor said he was fit to drive and he was. He hoped he could get into the points.

Sergio was batteling wheel-to-wheel with Hulkenberg trying to pass him for 4th, but it was near-impossible. The German had great blocking skills. Sergio tried to move past him in the next corner and ended up bumping wheels with the Force India. Nico ended up backing off in the next corner.

But what happened next, would change Nico's life forever.


	19. When You Hold Me I'm Alive

Scene - Malaysian GP (Continued)

Hulkenberg shut his eyes as he collided with the Sauber that had edged beside him. They both spun out and into the barriers. The crowds got silent as the sound of metal scraping was heard in all directions.

Nico groaned and opened his eyes. His neck felt sore, then panic swept over him. Esteban, he'd hit Esteban. He quickly got out of his car, pushing through the crowds of marshals and hurried to the Sauber. The nose of the car was in pieces after having come into contact with the barrier. Esteban was still in the car.

"Are you okay? Esteban!" Nico ran over and knelt beside the car. His boyfriend grabbed his hand. "Just get me out."

Nico nodded and helped him undo the belt straps and then gently pulled him out of the car, which resulted in cries from the younger driver. "Where does it hurt?" Nico asked, panicking.

"We'll take him to the medical center for checks." A medic said, gesturing towards the medical car.

"I'm coming with him." Nico said, guiding him into the car. They sat in the back, arms wrapped around eachother. "Tell me where it hurts."

"My shoulder."

"Okay.. it's gonna' be fine." Nico whispered. "Promise."

When they arrived at the medical center, Nico brought Esteban inside and yelled for a doctor. Upon an examination they found a piece of metal from the car embedded into Esteban's shoulder. Nico held his hand as doctors removed it and did stitches to close the wound. 

Nico took Esteban back to the Sauber garages afterwards and Monisha came hurrying over. "Are you both okay? Boys?"

Nico nodded. "We're okay.. I'm sorry I hit him-.. I-.." He felt himself unable to even talk about it without getting the words stuck. He felt horrible.

"It's okay.. It was an accident." She said, hugging them both. She then pointed to chairs. "Go sit.. rest." She told them and Nico nodded and went with Esteban over to the chairs where they sat. 

Esteban looked at him, then found his hand and held it. Nico moved away. "Not here." He whispered, then felt guilty when he looked away, obviously hurt.

"Hey.." Nico murmured.

"What? You're scared? Come on.. we can't hide it from people forever. I'm going back to my room. I'll see you later." Esteban said, sounding angry. He stood and grabbed his things before heading back to the hotel.

Nico sighed and kicked the floor with the tip of his shoe. "Fuck." He muttered under his breath.

"Go after him." Monisha said, looking at him.

"What?" Nico asked.

"I know." She said softly.

Nico took a moment to realise what she meant. She knew they were together and he looked at her. 

"Go." She said again. 

Nico got up and hurried for the hotel.

Meanwhile, the race was still underway. Alonso still leading with Sergio Perez now following in Second. In Third was Stoffel who was freaking out over team radio due to his rear tyres degrading fast.

"What do you want? Mediums or softs?" The team asked.

"I don't know.. what seems better?"

"Mediums, we could go all the way to the end on the mediums.. But you might lose pace."

"No! I don't want to lose pace. Put me on the softs!" He said, then hit the 'Pit' button and went into pit-lane, where the McLaren pit-crew stuck on a fresh set of softs and signaled he was good to go. When he finally emerged back onto the circuit, he was relieved to find out he was still in Third. "Great pit-stop guys! Woo!" He cheered over the radio. He wasn't used to being so tense. His first race was proving to be an incredible feat for him.

Sergio was gaining speed on Alonso but it was too late to catch him. Alonso had a pretty good lead and there was no way he was going to finish in any place other than first, unless there was something randomly wrong with the car, which according to his pace, it didn't seem that would be the case.

That was when Alonso's rear left tyre blew and he spun. Sergio swerved to avoid him and went right past him. Alonso's car spun out into the grass and came to a halt. He pounded on the steering wheel, disappointed to every extent. Stoffel yelled to himself as he was now in Second and chasing after Sergio's Sauber.

Lewis Hamilton was happy, he was now in the Third podium position and would be content to finish there.

Alonso trudged back to the Ferrari garages and found Kimi sitting there. He'd retired earlier on due to a hydraulics failure. "Hey." Kimi smirked. "Cute dance moves out there."

"Yeah, it's called a tyre-failure-twirl." Alonso murmured, his eyebrows furrowed.

"We had back luck today. Want an ice cream?" Kimi asked, holding up a packaged ice cream-bar on a stick, which the Spaniard greatfully snatched from him. "Indeed." He replied as he removed the wrapper.

\----  
Sergio threw a fist in the air as he crossed the finish line in First. He slowed down for a victory lap and waved to the fans. 2 wins in a row? He liked that. His first thought was, 'I can't wait to tell Jenson' - His second thought was 'Podium time'.

He met Stoffel and Lewis at parc ferme where they placed their cars and greeted their teams behind gates. Hugs and cheering spread across the many people before the 3 drivers headed up onto the podium. Sergio grabbed Stoffel by his sleeve as they headed up the stairs. "That was incredible. Great job." He whispered. 

"You too, mate!" Stoffel grinned, looking as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

After the anthems and champagne, then podium interviews, it was time to head back to the garages to clean up and prepare for Bahrain, which was back-to-back with the current Malaysian weekend.

Sergio headed for the back room of his garage and found his phone in his locker. He immediately called Jenson who answered after a few rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey!"

"Hey, Checo. Race over?"

"Yeah." He breathed, holding back excitement.

"Who won?"

"Guess!" He squealed.

"No... No way.. You-.. Did you win again?" Jenson asked.

"Yes!"

"Congratulations! That is incredible.. Wow.. I'm sorry I can't be there but when I get back.. We'll celebrate in Bahrain, okay? I promise. So, who else was on the podium?"

"Lewis in Third and you won't believe this.. Stoffel finished Second."

"Wow.. I'm.. Wow. I need to call him. We'll talk in Bahrain okay?"

"Okay." Sergio replied.

"Alright, see you in a few days." Jenson said, before hanging up.

\----  
Scene - Esteban Gutierrez & Nico Hulkenberg

Nico got back to the hotel and and went up to Esteban's room, knocking on the door.

The younger driver groaned and got up, looking through the peep-hole, before letting Nico in. "What?" He asked, still angry about earlier.

"I'm sorry." Nico began. "I didn't mean to upset you.. I just-.."

"You what? You're scared for the world to know we're in love? Why?"

"I know how people act! I know what they'll say about us."

"Who cares? I love you and that's all that matters."

Nico looked at him. "I love you too.. You know I do. I was so worried when I hit you.." He looked at the carpet.

Esteban leaned back against a wall, still sore from the accident. The pain in his shoulder felt worse than it had when it happened.

"I.. I'm scared.. That.. that one day, you're really gonna' get hurt.. And Esteban, I can't live with that.." He breathed, tears running down his face. He moved closer to him and placed his hands on the younger drivers' hips. "I don't want to do this anymore.. And I don't want you to do it either." He breathed.

Esteban looked up at him, holding back tears of his own. "You want us both to quit."

"Yes... Then we can.. Just.. Enjoy life, together, as a couple. We can get a place together somewhere beautiful and just.. Be happy." He whispered, moving a hand to Esteban's cheek.

Esteban placed a hand on top of Nico's hand and closed his eyes. "Okay." He whispered.

\----  
Scene - Bahrain Weekend - Day of arrival.

The hotel lobby in Bahrain was packed with drivers, moving around with their luggage and checking in. Some were still yet to arrive, but a little more than half of them were there. Nico and Esteban were there and waiting to check in. They'd decided to finish the current season and then they'd both announce their retirement from F1.

Sergio was sitting on a sofa, waiting for his turn in line when he saw Jenson enter through the hotel doors. He was dragging his suitcase behind him and had his phone in the other hand. "Alright everyone, I have arrived!" He called.

Sergio jumped up and hurried over to him.

"Hey, mate." Jenson grinned, letting go of his suitcase to give him a hug. "How are you?"

"Good. How are you?"

"Good. Tired, but good." Jenson smiled, then pulled up some photos on his phone. "Here she is, asleep in her crib on the day she came home."

Sergio smiled. "She's precious.. How is Jessica liking being a mother?"

"She loves it.. She barely takes her eye off of Evelynn. She's even sleeping in the nursery.. She gets worried that something will happen if she's not constantly there." Jenson smiled. "It's cute." He added.

Sergio smiled. "See, told you she was going to be a great mom."

"Yeah.. you were right." Jenson smirked. "Have you checked in yet?"

"No. There's a line." Sergio pointed.

Oliver was having trouble at the front desk because apparently his booked room was accidently given to someone else and he couldn't book a new room because they were full. He walked away and groaned. 

"Just stay with me." Carly whispered. "We're together anyway."

Oliver nodded. "I know.. just.. You know, I don't want people to think I'm sleeping around."

Carly giggled. "Don't worry. We'll just have to show off some PDA. You know, start holding hands and stuff."

Oliver smirked and took her hand. "Done." He said, grinning.

Jenson looked at Sergio. "We should share a room. That way we can talk and catch up."

Sergio knew he was supposed to be sharing a room with Esteban, but he figured he wouldn't mind. It's not like they didn't hang out all the time. "Yeah, sounds good." He said, following Jenson up to the front desk. "Kevin won't mind?"

"Nah. He can share with Stoffel since Stoffel doesn't have anyone to share with." Jenson said, handing his ID to the girl at the front desk.

"Okay.." He glanced at Esteban again, who was now looking straight back at him with a slightly confused look. He suddenly felt guilty.


	20. Babe, You Lost Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is. The last chapter and of course I end it with cliffhangers, I know. I'm sorry. I'm working on a sequel though and It will be around soon. Thanks to all the lovely people who read this. :D

Scene - Continued from last chapter.

As Sergio and Jenson headed for the hallway to find their room, Esteban stopped them. "Aren't we sharing a room?" He asked.

"Uh-.. Me and Jenson are gonna' share one this weekend.. You know, so we can catch up and stuff. Why don't you share with Nico?"

"Because Nico is sharing with his team-mate. That's how it works."

"Ollie's not sharing with Marcus." Sergio pointed out.

Esteban sighed. "Nevermind."

Sergio looked at him. "Why are you mad? It's just a room and it's only a few days. We hang out all the time. What? Are you jealous that I'm spending time with other friends?"

"What? No!" Esteban shouted, although he hadn't meant to.

"Then.. There's no issue." Sergio said.

Esteban didn't reply, just headed up to the front desk.

Sergio sighed and followed Jenson down the hall and to a locked door. Jenson swiped the key card and they headed inside, shutting the door behind them. They both shoved their luggage towards a corner of the room, near a small maple-wood end-table.

"Sorry.. I didn't mean to cause an issue.." Jenson stated.

"No. There's no issue." Sergio replied, sitting down on one of the beds. "He has others he can share a room with."

"Maybe he was looking forward to spending time with you."

"We spend time together.. All the time."

"I know.. He just.. You're his best friend."

"I know.. But I have other friends.. You, Ollie, Nico, Giedo, Lewis.. A bunch of people. I'm allowed to spend time with others."

"Yeah." Jenson nodded and sat across from him, on the edge of the other bed. "So.. You won, huh?"

"Yeah.. I mean, I have to credit Alonso for that. His tyre blew."

Jenson smirked. "So it was an easy win."

"Yeah, exactly. But I had to hold back Stoffel. He still could've won."

Jenson laughed but nodded. "True. He did great." He said, then looked at his as it buzzed. "It's Kevin, asking where I am." 

"Hey.. Tell him he can share a room with Esteban." Sergio suggested.

Jenson did so but was shocked at Kevin's reply. "Kevin says Esteban already got a room with Kimi."

"Kimi?"

"Yeah, Kimi. Kimi doesn't like to share with Fernando because Fernando goes to sleep way too early and then wakes up at the but-crack of dawn.. and you know, Kimi doesn't roll that way."

"But still.. Esteban sharing with Kimi? They're like complete opposites."

"Maybe not?" Jenson suggested with a shrug.

\----  
Scene - Kimi Raikkonen / Esteban Gutierrez

Kimi had overheard Esteban talking with Sergio and decided that the younger driver could share with him and so now the two were in their room, unpacking.

"Thanks.. You know, for letting me stay with you."

Kimi waved a hand. "It's not a big deal."

Esteban silently went back to unpacking and then sat down on a bed and checked his phone.

"So, what is it?"

"What is what?" Esteban asked, noticing Kimi was now staring at him.

"Why'd you get so touchy when you found out Sergio was sharing with Jenson instead of you?" Kimi asked, before rifling through the fridge for booze.

Esteban sighed. "I don't know.. I don't even care about it, so I don't.. know.. I've just been.." He shrugged. "Moody lately, I guess."

"Talk." Kimi said, opening a mini bottle of Vodka that he'd found.

"I'm gonna' tell you something.. And I trust that you'll keep it a secret."

Kimi nodded, heading over to sit with him. 

"Me and Nico are together.. Like, dating."

"Hulk?" Kimi asked. "Not Princess Rosberg?"

Esteban snorted a laugh. "Yes, Hulk.. Not Rosberg."

Kimi laughed. "Just checking. Okay, so you two are a pair. What's the issue?"

"Exactly. I knew you'd get it because.. You're.."

"Gay?" Kimi said, putting the words right in his mouth.

"Well, yeah."

"Yeah, I get it. It's not something I went and screamed to the world. I dated Seb, people found out, some of them accepted it and others trash-talked the both of us. We broke up and now I'm single and everyone's forgotten that I'm gay. Everyone's all focused on my driving now. So, yes, you get more attention focused on you when you're dating, especially if you're dating the same sex."

Esteban nodded, feeling that no one could have said anything wiser to him than Kimi. "I love Nico.. But recently.. He suggested we both quit racing and just move somewhere together. But.. I love racing.. It makes me happy."

"So, you don't want to quit?"

"Not anytime soon, no. But I agreed with him on announcing my retirement next year, when he announces his.. But.. I don't know. I'm not sure if it's what I want."

"You think he'd break up with you if you kept racing?"

"I-.. No, I don't think so. Maybe.." Esteban sighed.

Kimi handed him the bottle of Vodka. "Here."

"I don't really drink.." Esteban said, looking at the bottle.

"Just down it. It's only a sip or two. It'll take your mind off of the sad shit and make you feel good." Kimi smirked.

The dark-haired boy took the bottle and threw it back, then groaned and made a face. "Gross"

Kimi smirked. "You need to drink more."

"I do not." Esteban whined. "You need to drink less."

"Pffff.. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."

\----  
Scene - Oliver Turvey / Carly

Oliver was going through the track schedule, leaning back against some pillows, on the couch in the room he was sharing with Carly.

Carly sat down beside him. "Hey.. Can we talk?" She asked, placing a hand on his knee.

"Yeah." Oliver put the paper down and took her hand. "You okay?"

"Uhm.. Yeah, I just need to tell you something." She breathed, her finger moving back and forth on top of his hand. "Me and my boyfriend.. We were.." She looked at him. "We'd been having sex.. For awhile, before the break-up and-.."

"Did he give you something?" He asked, sitting up straight. 

"No." She shook her head, but tears were starting to fall down her cheeks. "I'm pregnant."

Oliver closed his eyes, holding on to her hand. "It's his.."

"Yeah.. He doesn't know yet.. I-.. I'm scared to tell him. He won't want it."

"Do you want it?"

"Yes.." She murmured. "He may be out of my life, but Oliver.. It's my baby, too. You.. You won't break up with me, will you?"

Oliver looked at her, placing his hand under her chin. "Look me in the eyes." He said, focusing on her eyes. "I would never do that to you. Ever." He added, before placing a kiss on her lips.

She placed her hands behind his neck, kissing back. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Oliver replied, wrapping his arms around her.

He just sat there with her, holding her close and letting her cry. He wasn't ready to be a dad, but he'd do what he could to be ready. He'd do whatever he needed to do for Carly. She was his everything.

\----  
Scene - Morning of the Race / Hotel Breakfast.

The last two days had gone over fairly well considering the things that were unfolding. Between Oliver finding out Carly is pregnant with her ex's baby and then Esteban confessing to Kimi that he didn't want to retire, despite his promise to Nico. Now it was Sunday morning and the drivers were gathered around tables in the Hotel diner, having breakfast.

Esteban sat with Nico and looked at the blonde. Nico had his eyes buried in a book. "We need to talk."

Nico looked up. "Okay."

"Look.. I've been thinking about everything.. Like.. the retirement stuff and I just can't. I can't do it. I love racing. I don't want to just quit at such a young age."

"But.. What about our plans?"

"Nico.."

Nico looked at him. "I don't want you getting hurt!" He exclaimed. "Don't you get it? This sport is dangerous! I'm scared that something will happen to you!" He cried.

Other drivers began staring.

"Be quiet." Esteban hissed, noticing that people had started looking over. 

"No! I love you!" Nico exclaimed. He'd started crying and then stood up. "I just want you to be safe and you don't care. You just care about winning. Well, guess what? You won't win! You're not meant for this." He snapped, then hurried off.

Esteban just sat there, feeling like he'd just been punched in the stomach. Monisha was watching him from where she sat at a table with a few of the other Team Principles. She looked concerned.

He got up from the table and walked out of the table and decided to go walk the track to think about things.

\----  
Kevin was already at the McLaren garages, talking to some of the engineers when Jenson showed up. Kevin looked at him and then headed into the back room, gesturing for Jenson to follow.

Jenson followed Kevin and looked at him. "What's up?"

"Did I do something?"

"What?"

"I-.. I feel like you're being distant with me. I try to hang out with you and I feel like you just want to make plans with the others.. Especially Sergio."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Kevin."

"Then what? Why are you always ignoring me? I feel like.. we're supposed to be a team, but you'd rather be on a team with anyone but me. It hurts.."

Jenson looked at him. "I'm sorry. It's not like that."

"Then what?"

"I don't know.."

"That's probably the worst explanation ever."

"I want to hang out with you.. I do and we will. We'll do something fun after the race, okay?"

Kevin shrugged.

"Kevin.. I really am sorry if I made you feel like that." Jenson frowned, heading over to him and hugging him.

Kevin was silent, holding on to him.

"Is there something else?" Jenson asked.

Kevin closed his eyes.

"What is it? Are you okay?"

"I hate this." He breathed.

"Hate what?" Jenson asked, stepping back and looking at him. He kept his hands on Kevin's shoulders. "What do you hate?"

Kevin looked at him.


End file.
